


Once upon a time

by ChickenXD



Category: Hatoful Kareshi | Hatoful Boyfriend
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, M/M, Sexual Harassment, i will add more tags as shit goes down, utsuro is isa and is thus shuu btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-23
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-05-03 00:06:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 23,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5269100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChickenXD/pseuds/ChickenXD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reincarnation AU where Ryuuji and Isa (Utsuro) meet again in a modern world...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kawara Ryuuji had never been one to believe in ‘fate’.

Perhaps it was just simple arrogance – he is a scientist, after all, and so must believe that science underlies everything in the world. There is no God – only science.

And yet, he could only explain the events on that day with that word – “fate”.

What a strange word.

~•~

“Tohri-kun?”

“What?” Nishikikouji Tohri asked without looking up from his notebook. “God, Kawara, focus on your notes or something! This professor changes slides at the speed of light –”

“Who’s that kid?” Ryuuji pointed at one of the students, sitting about three rows in front of them. He had unkempt short brown hair, and he was small – compared to the other students sitting around him, at least.

Tohri finished writing his notes and turned to look at the student in interest – “Oh, that’s Ichijou Utsuro.”

“I see.”

The professor switched slides, and they both got busy jotting down whatever it said.

“Do you know who he is, Kawara?”

“Well, a fellow Basic Chem student, as far as I know.”

“Damn, you really are clueless, huh?” Tohri sighed, “He’s the son of our current Minister of Industry.”

“I see.”

Tohri looked at Ryuuji for a while, the confusion apparent on his face, but then only sighed and continued taking notes.

“Why did I get someone as weird as you to be my roommate… at least sound impressed or something.”

Ryuuji could only contemplate at the truth of Tohri’s words.

Yes, it’s nice that he’s in the same class with the son of… someone powerful, but that wasn’t quite the reason why Ichijou Utsuro had caught his attention.

It felt as if they had met somewhere once. Which is strange, considering Ryuuji had always lived in a small town and had only moved to Tokyo because he had gotten scholarship.

But that strange sense of familiarity lingered around that Ichijou Utsuro. Not even Ryuuji could explain why –

~•~

“That’s all for today. Please read section C for our next class, and try the end of section questions.”

The students sighed in relief as they put down their pens or closed their books.

“It’s lunch already,” Tohri sighed, “Let’s get burger today, what do you think?”

Ryuuji was silent as he watched Utsuro pack his books. He didn’t seem to notice Tohri and Ryuuji –

“I’ll be right behind you, Tohri-kun.”

Ryuuji closed his notebook and placed his pen into his pocket before getting up from his seat – Utsuro has stood up now, too, ready to leave –

“Ichijou-san?”

Utsuro, hearing someone call his name, quickly turned around. Ryuuji flashed a smile as he walked towards Utsuro –

“So, um… hello,” Ryuuji said – damn, it is actually hard to be casual when talking to someone influential – even Utsuro seemed confused.

Utsuro was pretty upon closer look – he had purple eyes, shielded behind a pair of red-framed glasses.

“I’m Kawara Ryuuji, and…”

Utsuro’s eyes instantly widened in surprise.

“Kawara?”

He proceeded to look at Ryuuji from head to toe, as if trying to convince himself that Ryuuji was actually there.

 _So we have met somewhere before_ , Ryuuji thought, _but when and where?_

“So you’re… Kawara.” Utsuro walked forward and took Ryuuji’s hand – “Kawara…”

“Um, yeah.” Ryuuji could feel Tohri staring daggers at him. “I felt like we’ve met somewhere before but couldn’t quite remember it, so I was going to ask…”

“We’ve…” Utsuro seemed uncertain. “We’ve never met before. At least not here…”

 _Not here_ …? “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.” Ryuuji could hear Utsuro’s voice crack – “I mean, I mean…”

 _Oh no, now I’ve made him cry_.

“Wait, Isa-kun, don’t cry,” Ryuuji quickly said, only to catch his own mistake –

– that the person standing in front of him is not ‘Isa’, but Ichijou Utsuro.

Utsuro quickly wiped his tear before it fell, but he seemed to continue crying more anyways –

“I’m just… glad,” Utsuro managed to say between his sobs, “That… that you’re still alive.”


	2. Chapter 2

Ichijou Utsuro has no idea when those dreams started – it felt like they’d always been there for his entire life.

Every time he had that dream, he would wake up and think everything around him wasn’t real, only to find that they are painfully real.

~•~

It was a dark hospital room. He could see the night sky outside – the stars were not visible, but the full moon was.

Lying on the bed was a man with messy blue hair, but it was always too dark to make out his face. He was looking out of the window solemnly –

Utsuro was sitting next to the bed, holding the man’s hand.

An EKG machine was connected to man’s body, beeping every few seconds.

“So when you look up into the night sky,” the man would say, “Remember that I’m always up there, somewhere, watching you!”

The man slowly turned to look at him – it was still too dark to see his face, but Utsuro could hear the rustle of the sheets – he raised his hand and cupped Utsuro’s cheek.

“Be happy, Isa,” the man whispered. “That’s all I ever want for you.”

The machine fell silent.

~•~

The dream always ended there.

Every time, the man would always ask Utsuro to be happy, and then die. There was nothing he could do –

But why? Out of all the dreams he could’ve had as a child, why a dream about death? And who is that man?

 

Utsuro froze when the familiar voice called out to him. It was the same exact voice the dying man had –

He’d heard it for at least a thousand times now, and now it’s finally calling out to him, in the real world.

_Kawara Ryuuji, is it?_

~•~

“So you’re here on a scholarship?”

Ryuuji only gave a nod, as his mouth was stuffed with burger. He swallowed some of them before continuing.

“I did really well in high school, so the university approached me and said they’ll pay for my entire tuition and dorm fees, so I moved out of my town to Tokyo.”

“Without any other kind of compensation?” Utsuro asked while carefully cutting his burger, “Do they ask you to work for them after you graduate? Anything like that?”

“No, not really. I just need to maintain my good scores.”

“That’s nice,” Utsuro remarked, “By the way, where’s your friend? The blonde guy?”

“Ah… he decided to eat somewhere else.”

It really was because Tohri felt awkward talking to both of them after Utsuro cried in the classroom.

“Anyway, enough about me,” Ryuuji said, trying to change the topic, “Sorry, Utsuro-kun, but… you seem a bit too young to be in college.”

“I am,” Utsuro replied blatantly, “I’m seventeen.”

“Ehhh?”

“They let me skip two years in middle school because I did too well,” he continued, “So here I am. I thought, the sooner I finish school, the better.”

“That’s awesome…”

...is what Ryuuji said, but that information didn’t feel new to Ryuuji. As if he knew Utsuro was capable of something like that.

Ryuuji really wanted to ask what Utsuro meant by Ryuuji being “still alive”, but he decided to not bring it up over lunch. Maybe that conversation would be appropriate a few days from now...

“So which dorm do you live in, Kawara-sensei?”

Sensei…? “You… don’t have to call me sensei. Maybe senpai, but we’re on the same grade, so Ryuuji is fine –”

“Does it matter?”

Utsuro looked at Ryuuji, his eyes deadly serious.

Utsuro wasn’t wrong, though. Yes, Ryuuji felt a bit surprised by that degree of formality, but would it matter? It’s just a honorific.

“Well, I live on the East dorm,” he replied, trying to be casual again. “And where do you live, Utsuro-kun?”

“I live in an apartment nearby,” Utsuro replied. “My parents don’t want me to live in the dorms.”

Oh, yeah, his parents are politicians… they probably don’t want their son to live with normal people.

“I’ll visit you sometime,” Utsuro said, “If you don’t mind, that is.”

“Of course not!”

Ryuuji suddenly felt something vibrate in his pocket – a text, maybe?

“One sec, Isa-kun,” Ryuuji said, just in time to remember – “I… I mean Utsuro-kun. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

It was a text – a rather strongly-worded one too, from Tohri. “Get your ass to philosophy,” it said.

“Ah, sorry, Utsuro-kun, I have class starting shortly after this.” Ryuuji hastily gathered his things while putting some money on the table. “Do you have any other classes today?”

“No, I’m going home for today,” Utsuro replied. “See you tomorrow, Kawara-sensei.”

~•~

“Isa”.

That was his name in the dream, too. It had just made him a lot more certain that Ryuuji is indeed the dying man – well, not like there was ever any room for doubt.

As for why that isn’t his name now, he doesn’t know. Perhaps a reason will surface sooner or later. For now, it seems like Ryuuji doesn’t really remember anything from… whatever that dream is.

His grandparents had always talked about this whole business of reincarnation and rebirth, but in this world full of scientific proofs, that seems almost unlikely.

_“Isa”... it has a nice ring to it._

~•~

“How do we understand the world around us?”

The professor picked up an apple from the desk.

“You can say this apple is here because you can see it with your eyes. But say, if one night, a tree fell in the forest and nobody was there to see it or hear the crash, did it fall?”

A murmur of confusion broke out among the students. Sensing this, the professor smiled, and went on –

“Isn’t this why God is a very controversial topic?” he asked, “Even if nobody had ever seen God, some people do believe he exists, and that he controls our lives – but we cannot say that with certainty, can we now?

“The same goes with reincarnation, death, heaven and hell – you name it. We hear all these things about people being reborn as humans or animals or gods, but is there any way to prove that it happens without us experiencing it ourselves?

“If we are all reincarnations, we are quite blissfully unaware of it, aren’t we? Does that mean it didn’t happen? And even if we are aware that we are reincarnated, can we be sure that it’s not just our minds playing tricks on us?”


	3. Chapter 3

Ryuuji found himself standing on top of a hill, under a tree.

It was a clear, autumn night. The air was a bit cold, but the stars were spread beautifully over the sky, like gems on a black carpet.

A few metres away from him was a couple, sitting by a telescope. A brown-haired boy and a blue-haired man was cuddling, as if trying to keep themselves warm with nothing but each other’s warmth.

“I love you, Isa.”

The boy turned to look at the man, surprised, but the man kept looking at him seriously.

“Kawara-sensei?”

“I love you,” he repeated, as if trying to convince the boy, “It would be wonderful… if we can stay like this forever.”

~•~

“Kawara?”

Ryuuji woke up with a start.

Tohri was standing behind him, his hand grabbing Ryuuji’s shoulder. He must’ve been doing some make-up, because his right eye had eyeliner while his left didn’t –

Ryuuji looked around the room – his bed was still messy while Tohri’s impeccably clean, and he had apparently fallen asleep on his notebook – he could faintly remember trying to do a redox question –

“You okay?”

“Why, of course, yeah,” Ryuuji replied as he rubbed his eyes – he then noticed they were wet.

Had he been crying?

If so, why?

“Well, okay,” Tohri said as he walked back to his desk, where his make-up tools were laid out – “I mean, you were crying and mumbling something, so I just thought I’d check.”

Ryuuji felt his head throbbing – it felt as if the world was in a haze. The white ceiling, the sound of the air conditioning – they all sounded almost unreal.

“What time is it?”

“It’s four in the morning,” Tohri replied, “You can go back to sleep if you want to – I’m just gonna be here ironing my hair.”

“Okay…” Ryuuji stood up – the ground felt shaky under his feet – “Yeah, my earliest class starts at ten. I should sleep –”

Tohri continued watching Ryuuji as he made his way to the bed and instantly flopped down. He almost looked like he just got out of a really turbulent boat ride and needed time readjusting to land –

“You seem a bit… out of place, Kawara.”

“I have no idea,” Ryuuji said with a chuckle. “It’s… it’s just kind of odd.”

That Isa kid… he looks a lot like Utsuro-kun. Is that why I keep accidentally calling him Isa?

But that man…

~•~

“Kawara-sensei?”

Kawara turned around upon hearing someone call his name, and saw Utsuro walking to him. He was wearing a black peacoat and a purple scarf – very different compared to other students who just hastily put on a hoodie every morning (Ryuuji included).

“Hi there, Utsuro-kun.”

“Have you eaten breakfast?” Utsuro asked. “Should we grab something before class?”

“I’ve eaten, thanks,” Ryuuji replied, thinking back to the cup of ramen he just ate – can that even qualify as breakfast? “Have you? I mean, I don’t mind walking you to the coffee shop.”

“I’m fine.” Utsuro replied. “I had a bit of food this morning…”

Ryuuji couldn’t help but wonder what kind of breakfast Utsuro eats – surely his parents wouldn’t let him live on ramen, would they?

“Do you have biology lab after this, too, sensei?”

“Yeah… think about it, I never saw you there, Utsuro-kun.”

“It’s because we’re at the opposite ends of the lab,” Utsuro replied, “I’ll sit with you this time, how does that sound?”

“That sounds really nice, actually! Let’s do that!”

~•~

“Utsuro-kun, can you pass me the alcohol?”

“Here.” Utsuro slid a beaker over to Ryuuji, who caught it smartly. “I’m going to put the potassium dichromate in now –”

“Has the other end of the distillation thingy cooled down enough?”

“Distillation flask,” Utsuro corrected, “And yes, I believe it’s cooled down enough…”

“Careful with it, Isa-kun.”

“It’s been a while since we worked together like this, hasn’t it, sensei?” Utsuro asked, “It feels like the old times again.”

“Focus on the experiment first, Isa-kun!”

 

Perhaps others would be saddened by the fact that their old love barely remembered anything about them, but Utsuro didn’t think so.

While he still quietly wishes for Ryuuji to one day remember their old life, this is enough for now.

That Ryuuji is once again alive and well, and back by his side. Anything else can come later.

~•~

“That was a fun lab, Isa-kun!”

Ryuuji finally caught his mistake, and looked away in embarrassment.

“I mean… Utsuro-kun…”

“You can call me Isa if you want,” Utsuro said while drinking some milk. “I mean, if it’s more comfortable for you.”

“That’s not your name, though!” Ryuuji whined, “I’m the strange one here! I’ve never met anyone under the name Isa, and yet –”

“Are you sure?”

Ryuuji turned to Utsuro, confused.

“Are you sure you’re not forgetting something, Kawara-sensei?”

_And even if he is, am I going to tell him?_

Ryuuji bowed his head down in what seemed like sadness, and Utsuro immediately felt bad.

_Is it that important that he remembers me?_

_After all, all I remember about him is that one time he died –_

“I’m sorry.”

Ryuuji took Utsuro’s hand in his and looked at him.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, “If only I remember…”

“Please, forget it,” Utsuro quickly said. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does.” Ryuuji sighed, “I mean, I know we were both important to each other, but we don’t know. Everything seems kind of uncertain, and…”

“Sensei, I said it doesn’t matter.”

“I want to know who you are,” Ryuuji said, a sad smile drawn on his face. “I mean, we just officially met yesterday, but it kind of feels like we’ve known each other for a long time, and I can’t quite point out why...

“But when I remember, I’ll tell you,” Ryuuji assured, “And you must tell me too, if you remember anything, okay?”

 _I do_ , Utsuro thought, _I just… don’t want to tell you._

It felt horrible, holding back information when Ryuuji was clearly troubled by these fuzzy memories of their past – but at least, it seemed like the best option.

 _Perhaps I will dream of something different,_ Utsuro thought to himself. _Something I can actually tell him…_


	4. Chapter 4

“Kawara-kun~”

Ryuuji turned around and saw a blond walking towards him, followed by a black-haired man wearing a red scarf.

“Hi there, Kazuaki-kun and Hitori-kun,” he greeted, “Are you guys going back to the dorm?”

“I want to go watch Tohri-kun’s show, but Uzune-kun said he wants to sleep…” The blond – Nanaki Kazuaki – turned to his friend, Uzune Hitori, whose eyes was already half-lidded.

“Philosophy was so boring,” Hitori said, followed by a yawn. “That whole business about empirical evidence and whatnot is all common sense.”

“But, Uzune-kun, if you think about it further, it’s true! What if…”

“Let’s not get into a philosophy debate here,” Ryuuji sighed. “But yeah, I’ll be at the show. I can take Kazuaki-kun there if you don’t wanna join, Hitori-kun –”

Hitori shot a glare at Ryuuji – “You are not helping my case at all, Kawara-kun.” – but Ryuuji only chuckled in response.

Both Tohri and Hitori have been fighting for Kazuaki’s attention since day one, after all – the four of them living on the same floor in the dorm isn’t exactly helping either.

“Really?” Kazuaki seemed much happier now. “Thanks, Kawara-kun!”

Kazuaki turned to Hitori – “Uzune-kun, are you sure you wanna go back to the dorm?”

“Yeah…” Hitori was about to turn around and leave, but suddenly stopped.

“Or you know what, I’ll go along. It’s kind of creepy being alone in the dorm.”

You just don’t want Kazuaki and Tohri to spend some quality time after the show, Ryuuji thought, but said nothing.

“Yay~”

It’s probably nice to be so blissfully unaware like Kazuaki.

~•~

“Master Utsuro, are you ready?”

“Yes, give me a second...”

Utsuro finished tying his tie and quickly walked out of the room. One of his maids was waiting outside –

“Your mother and father are waiting downstairs. Should I clean your apartment while you go with them?”

“Don’t touch my room,” Utsuro replied as he walked out, “but other than that, yes, I would appreciate it.”

 

Perhaps any other teenager would say that Ichijou Utsuro leads an enviable life, but that’s not how Utsuro would describe it.

Sure, it seems nice to have a lot of money and powerful parents so that you can do anything you want, but there was one thing money could never buy for him – normalcy.

 

“It’s been a while, darling.”

His mother hugged him tightly as he was about to enter the limo – she smelled strongly of some perfume – and patted him on the back.

“So how’s school?” she asked, “You’re not cooped up in your room all day studying, are you?”

“No, of course not. I have to attend classes and eat, after all.”

He could see his father sitting inside, drinking wine while reading the newspaper.

“Hello, father.”

“Oh, hello,” his father replied curtly without looking up. “Get in the car – we’re running late.”

“Don’t be so cold, dear – Utsuro has been away for us for almost a semester now, don’t you miss him?”

 

That was why when he was about to enroll in college, he asked to live away from home. One, so that his parents wouldn’t bug him about unimportant things, and two, so that he could perhaps experience a more… normal life.

Of course that didn’t turn out to be the case – his uncle is the rector of St. Pigeonation’s University, to start with. Whenever the other students heard his name, they suddenly either shied away or became sickeningly polite. He sometimes wondered if the children of the Prime Minister faces the same problem –

 

“By the way, have you found a girlfriend?” his mother asked once they were in the car.

“...no, I didn’t have the time for that,” Utsuro replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, that’s perfect, then! Remember Mr. Shirogane, the Minister of Education? He wants to introduce his daughter to you – I’m sure you two would get along.”

“I don’t want you to marry some random peasant either,” his father interjected. “That would only bring shame to the family.”

 

Perhaps to say he hated his family was a little too extreme, but there was no better word to describe his feelings.

He was sick of the Ichijou family.

His father cared about nothing but work and image, and the same goes for his mum, if not worse. She doesn’t have to work, so she spends most of her time partying and trying to look good–

He became a something akin to a doll to be dressed up and polished, and wouldn’t matter otherwise. He’d always felt like that even as a kid – that he was never meant to be born in that family and that they never cared about him anyways.

It was sickening, sometimes, to think that he was just like a doll to be controlled for the good of the Ichijou family.

If there was any way for him to get disowned right now, he would most definitely do it. And then he’d run away to someplace nobody can find him, change his name, and try his best to live a normal life. It doesn’t even have to be a happy or comfortable one –

_Why wasn’t I born into a more normal family?_

~•~

The door of the backstage dressing room flew open and Ryuuji walked in, followed by Kazuaki and Hitori.

“Good job, Tohri-kun!”

Tohri, who was sitting in front of the mirror, shirtless, almost jumped when he heard Ryuuji’s voice.

“Kawara! You’re here!”

“Well, can’t miss the show where my roommate is the main character,” Ryuuji said, “You were great as… what’s his name again?”

“You were so cool as Dorian Gray, Tohri-kun!” Kazuaki praised. “I almost cried when you were mourning over Sybil’s death!”

“It’s in his genes,” Hitori said sarcastically. “Being arrogant, that is.”

“Oh, come on, Uzune-kun, you were asleep half of the show –”

“Thanks for coming, you all,” Tohri said glaring at Hitori – “Even you, Uzune.”

“Oh, you know…” Hitori wrapped his arm around Kazuaki’s shoulder, a smirk on his face – “I’m just here to accompany Nanaki-kun.”

The tension in the air raised as Tohri and Hitori held a glaring competition for approximately a minute.

“Prince Charming!” A man’s voice called out from another room. “Some of your fans are here!”

“Oh, shit, I’ve already gotten changed…” Tohri hastily put his costume back on and left. “By the way, Kawara, I’ll be back late since I have to help clean up the stage.”

“Yeah, don’t sweat it.”

“Let’s go,” Hitori said, “I don’t wanna be here when the other actors are changing.”

“It sure seems nice to be in the theatre club, huh,” Kazuaki sighed as he walked out. “I should join next semester, too…”

“Please don’t, Kazuaki-kun,” Ryuuji said, “I only need one drama queen in the dorm.”

“What are you talking about, Kawara-kun? Nanaki-kun is already a drama queen.”

“Uzune-kun!!”


	5. Chapter 5

Utsuro was walking past a laboratory on his way to the cafe when he saw a familiar figure sitting inside. 

“Kawara-sensei?”

Ryuuji, who was looking at a microscope, quickly looked up when he heard his name. 

“Oh, Isa-kun!” A smile broke out on his face. “What are you doing here?”

“Just passing by. I was going to the cafe to get something to eat,” Utsuro replied – he had decided to not tell Ryuuji his mistake. “What are you doing in the lab at eight in the morning, unsupervised, sensei?”

“Oh, it’s just a research I’m doing for fun!” Ryuuji turned off the microscope and took out the slide he was looking at. “It’s about cell immortality!”

“...immortality?”

“So… you know how cancer cells keep multiplying even after their host dies, right?” Ryuuji started, “I thought something in their genetic material is the cause, so if we can somehow alter the normal human DNA to contain this gene, we, too, might achieve immortality!”

“That sounds illegal.”

“Well…” Ryuuji scratched his head nervously, “The biology professor just told me ‘good luck’ and lent me this lab.” 

Utsuro walked into the lab, sat down next to Ryuuji, and looked at the slide – it had a tiny drop of purple liquid on it. 

“What’s this?”

“I tried multiplying some cells… I’m going to run some gel electrophoresis on them and look for any interesting sequences.”

“This sounds pretty interesting, actually,” Utsuro said, “Do you mind if I join, too?”

“Of course not!” Ryuuji immediately wrapped his arms around Utsuro tightly –

“Yay! I got a new assistant!”

“...you mean a research partner.”

 

“So what did you do last night, Kawara-sensei?”

“Well, I went to watch Tohri-kun’s show, and tried doing my lit paper,” Ryuuji replied, “Didn’t work out too well… I’m gonna ask Kazuaki-kun to bail me out.”

Utsuro was silent for a second, which Ryuuji took as a sign of silent confusion – 

“He lives next door to me in the dorms,” he continued before Utsuro could ask who Kazuaki was. “He’s going to major in philosophy or something.

“What did you do last night, Utsuro-kun?”

“Went to a dinner with my parents,” Utsuro replied. “It wasn’t fun or anything, though.”

“What do you mean?” Ryuuji asked, “I mean, at least the food must be better than what we have here on campus, right?”

“I don’t like my parents,” Utsuro replied – Ryuuji raised an eyebrow in confusion upon hearing that. 

“Why not?”

“I just don’t,” Utsuro replied. “They think they can control every single aspect of my life, and… it just sucks when parents do that.”

Ryuuji turned to look at Utsuro, a sad smile on his face.

“Maybe I’m not a good source of advice since I get along pretty well with my parents, but you shouldn’t be like that, Utsuro-kun,” he said. “They’re the ones who raised you and all that, after all.”

Easy for you to say, Utsuro thought, but said nothing. He’d heard the same advice at least a hundred times now…

“Anyway, what time is it?” Ryuuji stood up and took off his lab coat, “Do you have class?”

Utsuro looked at the clock – he has roughly fifteen minutes until the his first class of the day starts. 

“...I do.”

“Should I walk you there? My next class starts in half an hour, so I have a bit of time –”

~•~


	6. Chapter 6

“Utsuro-kun! We did it!”

Ryuuji was staring intently at two white creatures, each confined within an incubator. They were staring back curiously at Ryuuji, their faces pressed against the glass. Utsuro was standing behind him, watching –

“But, Kawara-sensei,” Utsuro interrupted, “We can’t exactly call them… ‘alive’, can we?”

“I don’t know! They… seem to be aware of me!” Ryuuji waved took out a pen and moved it from left to right, and the creatures watched his movements carefully.

“Anyway!” Ryuuji turned to Utsuro, “We certainly have found something interesting! We should tell the professor!”

~•~

“I thought you said you wanted to research cell immortality?”

“Well, I mean… yes, but isn’t this awesome?”

The professor knocked the glass of one of the incubators, and the creature inside walked away from it.

“Kawara, Ichijou…” The professor sighed, “Just exactly what have you guys been doing this whole year?”

“Well, we were trying to research immortality at first,” Ryuuji scratched his head, “But somewhere along the way, we got sidetracked and started focusing on how they can live independently and –”

“We apologize if it’s something we shouldn’t have –”

“Alright, alright…” The professor sighed again...

“Damn, you two are fucking awesome.”

~•~

Ryuuji and Utsuro walked out of the lab, both of them nervously looking back at the professor, who was still looking at the two creatures.

Earlier, the professor had told them that this is a discovery that must not go untold – artificial organisms have been a widely researched topic, and a controversial one, too.

Utsuro finally turned to look at Ryuuji as they entered the lift – “Are you sure everything will be alright, Kawara-sensei?”

“It has to be alright,” Ryuuji shrugged, “Or, there goes a year of research down the drain.

“But other than that!”

Ryuuji suddenly grabbed both of Utsuro’s hands and held them tightly.

“We… we did something really awesome, didn’t we, Utsuro-kun? It’s all thanks to you!”

“Uhh…” Utsuro looked away, “I… I guess.”

_I’m still not sure what will happen to those two creatures now…_

_...but at least Kawara-sensei is happy, so that’s good._

_Perhaps he never thought about what this research will change – I mean, all he wanted was to have fun researching something._

“It’s all thanks to you that I can do this!”

“Not really, it was your idea to start with…”

“Let’s celebrate!” Ryuuji exclaimed, “We worked our asses off, so let’s do something fun! Like a sleepover! Or a party!”

_A sleepover… with Kawara-sensei?_

Utsuro could feel his heart race.

“We… still have classes to attend, though.”

“I mean tonight!” The elevator stopped, so they both walked out – “Do you want to come to the dorm? Or should I go to your apartment?”

“...either is fine.”

“I think I’ll go to your apartment… I don’t think Tohri-kun will appreciate us partying all night!”

 _If anything bad is to happen_ , Utsuro thought, _it… doesn’t matter for now._

_Kawara-sensei seems happy. That’s enough._

~•~

“We bring to you the latest news! Today, in St. Pigeonation’s University, a scientific breakthrough has been discovered!”

“While it is currently unclear what these artificial organisms can do, they seem to be behaving normally –”

“This is going to change everything we know about life! If life can be created from nothingness…”

“The two students responsible for their creation are Kawara Ryuuji and Ichijou Utsuro, both medical students in their second year –”

“This is unethical! Blasphemy! Scientists think they can become God –”

~•~

“Kawara-kun.”

Ryuuji turned around upon feeling a hand on his shoulder – Hitori was sitting next to him, with his laptop screen open.

“You… made artificial organisms?”

“Sort of…” Ryuuji sighed, “I didn’t really make them from scratch. There were some cells that already has the ability –”

“Is that what you’ve been researching with Ichijou-san for the past year?”

“Yeah. Utsuro-kun helped me a lot…”

“How come you two are so calm about this?” Hitori asked, surprised, “I mean, this is the kind of discovery that changes the world as we know it! Everyone on the internet is talking about it!”

“It’s that big of a deal?” Ryuuji seemed confused, “I mean… it’s just research.”

Hitori almost wanted to punch Ryuuji over his cluelessness. This guy made such a great discovery, and genuinely expected nothing from it –

“There he is!”

They both turned to look out of the window, and saw a flock of reporters outside the library. They seemed to be ready with cameras and microphones or notebooks –

“Kawara-san!” “Kawara-san, a moment please!” “Just one question!”

“This isn’t looking good,” Hitori sighed, “Come on, let’s go hide somewhere. Unless you wanna deal with them, that is.”

“One sec, I gotta find Utsuro-kun.” Ryuuji quickly took out his phone – “I mean, he can’t be having a pleasant time either –”

 

“Yeah, I’m hiding in the broom closet.”

Utsuro could hear the chaos in the hallways – some of the reporters have probably gotten in and were looking for him.

He may be the son of a politician, but he couldn’t think of anything he hated as badly as his family as reporters. They always cause so much trouble –

“Should I go there? I probably can punch a few people and –”

“Just pour out some acid. That’s much easier.”

“Utsuro-kun…”

“Well, I expect the security to try to kick them out,” Utsuro sighed, “I’ll go back straight to my apartment. Why don't you go ahead and go there too – I'll text you the address now.”

“Okay! I’ll see you there!”

 

“Kawara-san! Can you please tell us…” “Kawara-san! Over here, please!” “Just one question!”

“Don’t look at them,” Hitori said as he dragged Ryuuji through the crowd. Ryuuji was looking down at the ground as he walked –

“Ah, Hitori-kun, can you take me to the station?”

“Where are you going, Kawara-kun?”

“I promised to go to Utsuro-kun’s house after this,” Ryuuji replied, “I mean, it’s probably also full with reporters, but hopefully it won’t be as bad as the school?”

“That’s actually a neat idea,” Hitori said, “His apartment must have some pretty nice security to block them out… maybe you should stay there until all the commotion dies down.”

“Sorry, Hitori-kun… I didn’t think it’d be this troublesome.”

 _Of course you didn’t_ , Hitori complained as they continued making their way through.

~•~


	7. Chapter 7

“Yes, mother, I’m fine now.”

The Ichijous quickly got wind of the situation, and Utsuro eventually had to be escorted home by three guards.

“I’m going straight home, don’t worry. No, we’re not being followed… I don’t need any more guards at the apartment, really.”

“Young master, do you know them?” One of the guards pointed at the entrance of the apartment where a blue-haired man stood, looking around nervously –

“I know him, don’t worry,” Utsuro said. “Stop the car – I can handle things from here on.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll call you guys if anything comes up.” The car slowed down to a halt, and Utsuro walked out – “Thanks, you all.”

 

“You made it, Utsuro-kun!”

“Glad to see you here, Kawara-sensei,” Utsuro greeted. “How did you come here?”

“I had a friend take me to the train station,” Ryuuji answered, smiling sheepishly.

 _Probably easier for him to not get recognized since he’s never been on TV before,_ Utsuro thought.

“But… Utsuro-kun, you live in such a nice place!”

‘Nice’ is probably an understatement.

The apartment tower was probably… 20 storeys high, and it was located just outside the train station, so it must be pretty convenient (and probably expensive).

“I don’t know… it’s probably a bit nicer than the dorms.” Utsuro opened the glass door and walked through – “Come on.”

The lobby inside was even better – it looked like the lobby of a five-star hotel. A grand chandelier hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room – the crystals looked colourful as the sunlight reflected on them. There was a big restaurant next to the entrance door, and next to it, a bar. There were chairs and coffee tables everywhere; each of the tables have some fresh flowers on it. In the corner of the room stood a grand piano, but nobody seemed to be using it right now.

“I’m having a guest stay overnight, Sasai-san, do I need to sign anything?” Utsuro asked the receptionist – an old man in a suit who seemed like he had heard the news but had not expected the two students to show up suddenly.

Ryuuji noticed a glass bowl full of candies on the reception desk, and casually took a handful and shoved it into his hoodie pocket. Utsuro turned to look at him judgmentally, but only sighed.

The receptionist took out a pen and a thick black book, titled ‘Guest’ – “Just write his name here, your room number and today’s date, and the date when he leaves.”

Utsuro took the pen and quickly wrote down the information – “Tell anyone looking for me that I’m still in school, please.”

“I understand,” the old man replied, “And congratulations, Ichijou-san, Kawara-san.”

“Thank you, Sasai-san.” “Thanks… I guess.”

Utsuro took out his keys as they walked into an empty elevator, and pressed a button numbered eight. Ryuuji unwrapped a piece of strawberry candy –

“You want some, Utsuro-kun?”

Utsuro only glared at him in return.

“What? It’s not wrong to take a candy or two…”

“You took at least a dozen, Kawara-sensei.”

The elevator slowed to a halt, and they both walked out. Utsuro’s room was number 813, located at the very end of the hallway.

“Anyway, you said we are going to party…” Utsuro unlocked the door and walked in, followed by Ryuuji, “But what do you mean by that?”

“Like… order a big pizza and watch movies or something? Sometimes there’s alcohol involved, but you’re still eighteen, so…

Ryuuji had to stop to look around Utsuro’s apartment.

It was nothing like the typical apartments he’d seen that only consists of a bedroom-kitchen hybrid and a toilet – Utsuro’s unit was much bigger and luxurious. Ryuuji could only see the kitchen from where he stood, and it was already nicer than the one they have in the dorm. It has all the basic kitchen tools and a big dining table with two chairs, and sunshine poured in from a big window that provided a nice bird’s eye view of the city.

_Damn, rich kids sure are different!_

“Do you mind if I… uh… look at your room?”

“Sure,” Utsuro replied while opening his fridge and taking out a bottle of juice. “I’ve never drank before, but I don’t mind.”

Ryuuji opened the door that led to the bedroom and peeked through – it has a big bed (probably bigger than his bed and Tohri’s combined), a wardrobe, and a TV. There were a few clothes and papers lying on the bed, but that aside, it was clean. Ryuuji estimated that the room is about as big as the one he and Tohri shared –

“W… what kind of people live here, Utsuro-kun?” Ryuuji asked, “I mean, any normal student wouldn’t be able to afford this…”

“I never really bothered to socialize with my neighbours,” Utsuro replied coldly, “But Sasai-san said they’re usually businessmen.

“Anyway, if you want pizza, do you know a good shop? I don’t usually eat such things.”

Of course not, Ryuuji thought, he probably eats something expensive everyday…

“So… what do you usually eat?”

“I eat at the restaurant downstairs or in the school cafe, if I have to.”

As someone who almost entirely lives off ramen, Ryuuji felt like an alien now. 

“There’s this place Tohri-kun usually orders from,” Ryuuji said as he took out his phone from his pocket, “I’ll try to find it…”

Just as he was searching through the contacts, the phone’s screen suddenly changed, indicating an incoming call.

“Mind if I answer this call real quick? It’s from my dad.”

Utsuro gave a nod.

“Hey, dad?”

“OHHHH! I’m so proud of you, Ryuuji-kun! I saw it on TV! You made something so awesome! As expected from my son!”

“Thanks, dad! What do you think of it?”

“I think it’s absolutely awesome! You should get a Nobel prize for it! Is your friend there? With you?”

“Utsuro-kun? Yeah, you wanna talk to him?”

“Hmm… maybe later when your mum wakes up. But say our congratulations to him too! Tell him he’s awesome!”

Ryuuji turned to look at Utsuro, “My dad said you’re awesome,” he whispered.

“Anyway, you must be busy now, right? I’ll call back later! I’m sure your mum will be happy to hear this! Bye!”

Ryuuji hung up the phone and turned to Utsuro, who had been watching. He now noticed some kind of strange sadness hidden in his purple eyes –

“What’s wrong, Utsuro-kun?”

_To think that Kawara-sensei’s parents would appreciate me more than my own parents… It’s laughable._

“...it’s nothing.”

Ryuuji continued to look at him, the concern apparent in his eyes, but Utsuro just shrugged.

“I said it’s nothing.”

“I don’t like it when you’re secretive like that, Utsuro-kun~” Ryuuji pouted as he continued looking at his phone, “But it’s alright. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.

“So what kind of pizza do you like?” Ryuuji put the phone next to his ear – he must be calling the store.

“I don’t know,” Utsuro replied. “It’s up to you, Kawara-sensei.”

~•~

The pizza came as the two of them were starting to watch a movie – Mean Girls. It was something Utsuro had wanted to watch for a long time, so why not.

Ryuuji ended up ordering something with a lot of meat and cheese on it – there were pieces of beef, sausages, chicken, and whatnot.

“It smells good, doesn’t it?” Ryuuji pulled apart a slice and took a bite. Utsuro hesitantly took one of them, too, and started eating. He thought it tasted a bit too salty, but that aside, it was alright.

“Let’s eat in my room,” Utsuro suggested, “That way we can watch the movie while eating.”

“Are you sure? What if we get the bed dirty?”

Utsuro lifted the box and brought it to his room, “I can always clean it up later.”

They got back into the room, sat down on the bed, and Utsuro quickly continued the movie.

“Why do you like these kind of movies, Utsuro-kun? Don’t you like anime?”

“Well, I watch them sometimes, but I’m sick of watching girls with jiggly boobs like that…”

“You’re right…” Ryuuji took another slice of pizza, “I usually watch the more serious ones, though… Neon Genesis Evangelion, for example.”

The conversation ended there. Utsuro mainly focused on watching the movie, while Ryuuji focused on eating – he did stop after the fourth slice, though.

 

Ryuuji was entirely silent by the time the movie ended. Utsuro turned off the television, and turned to him.

“Kawara-sensei?”

Ryuuji was asleep.

He’d rested his back on the headboard and probably dozed off halfway through the movie. It was probably understandable – Utsuro knows Ryuuji often stayed up studying or doing their research, and the commotion from the afternoon was probably quite tiring.

He seemed so peaceful when sleeping.

Utsuro was somehow reminded of that dream, where Ryuuji would suddenly die, but this time, he could see Ryuuji’s chest slightly rose and fell –

 _He's going to be fine_ , Utsuro convinced himself,  _just don't think about it..._

Utsuro put the pizza box on the floor and carefully brought Ryuuji’s head down so he was lying down on the bed. It only ended up making Ryuuji sleep in a weird position though, since his body was bent, but he didn’t seem disturbed. Utsuro tried to lift Ryuuji’s head so he could slide a pillow under it, but then he heard Ryuuji mumble something –

“Isa-kun…”

“I’m here.” Utsuro gently ran his hand through Ryuuji’s hair – “Sleep tight, Kawara-sensei.”

Utsuro successfully put the pillow where he wanted it to be, and then laid down on what little space remained, next to Ryuuji. They were so close now, Utsuro could feel his warm breath on his hair –

Ryuuji felt so warm and comforting, like home. That warmth was so close, so familiar –

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks @nicowrites (or peachtee. whatever yall know them as) for the suggestion to use mean girls  
> i thought about using hannibal as a cruel joke at first but you know. let's make this a bit happier


	8. Chapter 8

“Be happy, Isa-kun. That’s all I ever wanted for you.”

 

Ryuuji found himself standing in a hospital room.

The room was dark and quiet, and the smell of antiseptics heavy in the air. The curtains were drawn – it was a cloudy night, but the moon was still visible, hanging up in the sky.

A man was lying on the bed, and a boy sat next to him, holding his hand – it was too dark to make out their faces. An EKG machine was hooked up, presumably to the man – it was silent now.

 _What happened here_?

Ryuuji walked closer to the boy, and could hear him softly sobbing.

 _I_   _see… this guy, whoever he is, just died, huh?_

Ryuuji placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder, although the boy didn’t seem to notice his presence at all.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

The boy continued crying. Ryuuji could understand that – the boy must be really sad about whoever this person was –

He turned to look at the dead man – he still couldn’t see the man’s face, but it somehow made him uncomfortable. Did he die of an illness?

“Kawara-sensei…”

The boy was calling him from between his sobs.

“I’m here.” He grabbed the boy’s shoulders, but received no response. The boy continued crying –

“I’m scared… Kawara-sensei… what will I do without you?”

“You’ll be fine,” Ryuuji said, “I’m here, with you. Everything will be alright…”

“I don’t want to be lonely again,” the boy continued –

– it then dawned on Ryuuji that the boy could neither see nor hear him.

He is merely the spirit of the dead man lying on the bed.

~•~

Ryuuji woke up with a start.

The room around him was dark and quiet – the smell of food lingered in the air. Instead of IVs and machines, Ryuuji could see a TV just right across the bed. This was clearly a different room from the one he was just in –

_What’s happening? Where am I? Where did that boy go?_

_Am I… am I dead_?

“Kawara-sensei?”

The voice that called out to him was certainly that of the boy in his dream. He turned and saw the boy lying down next to him –

“Are you okay, Kawara-sensei?”

“Why…”

_This isn’t the room I was in…_

_The dead man isn’t here… because he’s me. Does that mean right now, I, too, am not here_?

The boy got up and cupped Ryuuji’s cheek – the sensation of being touched quickly brought Ryuuji back into reality.

“It’s okay,” the boy said. “It’s just a bad dream.”

“Isa-kun…”

 _Yes, this must be him. Isa_ …

Ryuuji held Isa tight in his arms. He felt warm, and real…

Not Ichijou Utsuro. This is Isa-kun, in the flesh –

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “Isa-kun, I’m sorry. I should’ve never left you behind like that…”

“Kawara-sensei, do you remember now?”

“I do.” Ryuuji buried his face in Isa’s shoulder and held him closer – “If only… if only I didn’t…”

“It’s not your fault,” Isa reassured. “It just happened to be that way.”

“It won’t happen again.” Ryuuji got up, looking at Isa straight in the eye –

“Now that we can meet again in this life, I will never let you go.”

_I simply want Isa-kun to be happy._

_I’ll do anything, even if it means sacrificing myself, to see that happen._

 

Ryuuji’s determination brought a certain strange sadness into Isa’s heart.

They both must be desperate now, to be happy with each other – and yet it is but an illusion nobody can ever have...

Somehow, Isa felt compelled to cry.


	9. Chapter 9

Ryuuji was still asleep when Isa’s alarm rang the next morning. Isa quickly got up to turn it off, unwilling to disturb Ryuuji’s sleep.

It felt almost strange to see that everything is once again back to normal, after everything that had happened last night. Perhaps their past, if it actually existed, is just something they have to keep between each other…

Yeah, Isa can’t imagine his parents being happy to learn about all that.

It was eight in the morning – usually, around this time, he would shower and get ready to go to school. It was Wednesday, so his first class would start at nine-thirty.

“Kawara-sensei.” He lightly shook Ryuuji’s shoulder, “It’s morning now.”

Ryuuji opened his eyes, turned to look at Isa, and then yawned as he sat up.

“What time is it?”

“It’s eight in the morning. What do you want to eat for breakfast?”

“Anything is fine…” Ryuuji fished for his phone in his hoodie pocket, and found it after taking out most of the candies he got yesterday. “Whoa, Tohri-kun called me fifteen times! I didn’t know he cared about me that much.”

Isa noticed the box of pizza lying on the floor, and picked it up. “Or I can heat up the pizza from last night, if you like.”

“Kawara, you bitch! Where the hell are you! You better fucking call me back as soon as you hear this!”

A forced silence fell once the voicemail ended. Ryuuji seemed a bit surprised by its contents, but Isa only sighed.

“Well that is a very strongly-worded voicemail,” Isa remarked calmly. “I’ll heat up the pizza. Why don’t you call him and explain?”

Ryuuji looked down at his phone dejectedly, “He’ll kill me, Isa-kun. He just will.”

Isa had just walked out of the bedroom when he heard knocks on the door.

_Who could it be? A reporter? Or is it Sasai-san, delivering the package I ordered last week?_

“Utsuro-kun?”

A familiar voice could be heard from the other side.

“It’s me, Uncle Mino,” the voice continued. “Are you awake?”

 

Isa only sighed as he opened the door. A green-haired man was standing outside, holding a gym bag in his hands, smiling sheepishly. He was wearing a green shirt under his black suit, and a golden badge that carried the emblem of St. Pigeonation’s.

“Good morning, Utsuro-kun!”

“Morning, uncle,” Utsuro greeted back as he opened the door wider so Ichijou Mino could get in. “What business do you have with me so early in the morning?”

“Aww, that’s cold, Utsuro-kun,” Mino sighed as he walked in, “Can’t I visit my cute nephew?”

Ichijou Mino – the rector of St. Pigeonation’s University. He also happened to be the only member of the Ichijou family Isa could somewhat get along with – probably because he used to be a scientist, so they had similar interests. Isa mainly liked him because he didn’t bother about politics or self-image or anything useless like that.

Ryuuji was walking out of the bedroom when he spotted Mino walking in, and immediately froze in place. Mino too, noticed him, and turned to Isa with a scrutinizing look.

“What,” Isa asked apathetically, “Can’t I have a friend stay overnight?”

“Well, I mean…” Mino turned to look at Ryuuji, who now had broken into cold sweat. “It’s just unusual to see you get along so well with someone.”

“You always told me to go make friends, and now that I’ve actually made one, you’re criticizing me?”

“That’s not what I meant to say, Utsuro-kun…

“Anyway, that doesn’t matter for now,” Mino sighed, “Can you two eat real quick and then follow me?”

“Where are we going?” Isa asked, “Can you tell our teachers we’ll be missing class?”

“Some folks want to offer you internship,” Mino replied, “Ever heard of Takaba Lab?”

Ryuuji’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Isn’t that the government-funded lab?!”

“Yes. They seem pretty interested in whatever you guys are doing,” Mino replied. “So why don’t you two eat now, and we’ll go?”

“I don’t have anything to change into, though…”

“I heard from Uzune-san that you came here unprepared, so with that in mind, Nishikikouji-san packed some clothes.” Mino placed the gym bag on the dining table, “And he told me he left a message for you. Did you see or hear it yet?”

“Ah…”

~•~

“So what do your parents think about this, Utsuro-kun?”

Isa remained silent – well, not like he had any answer to the question yet. Mino looked at him for a while, waiting for an answer, but after two minutes it became obvious to him why Isa couldn’t answer.

“Your dad’s a busy man,” Mino sighed, “He’s always been like that since we were kids.”

“He just doesn’t care, uncle,” Isa shot back, “What matters to him is that we keep getting foreign investors and whatever.”

“You can’t really blame him for that… he’s got an entire country to take care of, after all.”

“Well, I’m part of this country too.”

Mino, unable to find a better argument, fell silent.

Ryuuji only remained silent as he felt the tension rose in the car. Isa had told him a few times that he doesn’t get along with his parents too well, but it was Ryuuji’s first time seeing how bad it was.

“Anyway,” Mino said, trying to lighten the atmosphere, “You’re from Hokkaido, right, Kawara-san?”

“Ah… yes,” Ryuuji replied nervously. This man pretty much controls the university and its students, after all.

“What are your parents like?”

“My dad is a farmer, and my mum… well, she stopped working three years ago when she got stroke. She’s bedridden now, so…”

“Do you have any siblings?”

“Uncle, stop it,” Isa cut, “You sound like you’re interviewing a potential employee.”

“Come on, Utsuro-kun, I’m sure Kawara doesn’t mind.” Mino winked at Ryuuji, “Yeah?”

This is a weird situation no matter how you look at it! “Um…”

“Also, my brother’s a lot more difficult than me,” Mino boasted, “He’ll ask things like what your family annual income is, what career path you plan on taking, and all that…”

“Don’t worry, you’re not meeting my dad anytime soon, Kawara-sen…”

Wait, can’t let uncle know.

“...san,” Isa corrected himself and quietly prayed his uncle didn’t catch into anything. He could see Ryuuji sweating nervously at the back, too.

“He’ll want to see what kind of guy his son befriends,” Mino said, “So just be ready, Kawara-san.”

“Anyway, forget about my dad,” Isa cut, “What are they gonna make us do in Takaba?”

“Frankly, I have no idea,” Mino replied. “Maybe research… I think they want to look closer at the artificial organisms you guys made first, though. It’s still in the lab for now.

“Either way, I think they’ll make a deal attractive enough you two can’t refuse,” he continued, “And considering it’s you, Utsuro-kun, it will be a bloody good deal.”

“That’s up to me to decide,” Isa replied with a sigh –

Working with the government sounds like a terrible idea for Isa, to be honest. It would mean his father gets to keep a closer eye on his every move, and it will also bring him closer to those nasty politicians and whatever they have in store –

_As long as Kawara-sensei approves of it… I guess._

_As long as it makes him happy._


	10. Chapter 10

“It’s so big!”

They arrived in front of a typical grey building tha would look just normal if the words “Takaba Laboratory” wasn’t written on the billboard next to it. There were a lot of other cars other than theirs – the researchers’, probably – and quite a few people wandering around in the lobby. It was refreshing to not see any reporters on the site.

The building carried a strange vibe, though, as if it was a place nobody should enter unless absolutely necessary.

Still, Ryuuji was looking around excitedly around him, like a boy visiting the amusement park for the first time.

“You seem really excited, Kawara-sensei.”

“Of course! Aren’t you, Isa-kun?” Ryuuji asked while hopping around. “I mean… this is… this is where amazing things happen!”

Isa had been here before, maybe four or five years ago. His father had brought him there to introduce him to some people, and if Isa was to be honest, it wasn’t exactly… pleasant.

Mino finally got off the car, and tapped both of them on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s get in.”

The three of them walked past the revolving glass door, into the lobby. There were a few scientists in lab coats walking around, discussing their experiments, and the logo of the laboratory was displayed on the wall – it was a flask, filled with blue liquid with bubbles coming out of the spout.

“This feels reminiscent,” Mino sighed, “I used to intern here, too.”

“Really?” Ryuuji immediately turned to him. “How was it like?”

 

“It certainly wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you that,” Mino replied, “There’s a lot of pressure to do things right and not screw up, but it was pretty fun to work with all the people here.”

“Mino, Utsuro.”

All three of them quickly turned to the source of the voice, and saw a man in a suit walking out of the elevator, towards them. The man’s looked a lot like Mino’s, save that his hair was brown and not green – he carried an air of indifference around him, and along with it, a certain sense of arrogance. He was slightly taller than Ryuuji, his eyes were purple and cold, and the way he dressed – a sharp black suit and a purple tie – certainly made him stand out from the crowd.

Ryuuji noticed Isa stiffened up upon seeing this man – he wanted to hold Isa’s hand and say everything will be alright, but he didn’t want to look suspicious, either.

The man turned to look at Ryuuji for a second, as if examining him.

“Kawara Ryuuji, I suppose.”

“Yes…” Ryuuji bowed down deeply, “Nice to meet you, sir.”

“I’m Ichijou Kitsugu,” the man introduced himself. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yo, bro!” Mino walked to the man and tapped his shoulder delightfully. “I didn’t expect to see you here! I thought Shirogane is the one they’ll ask to come!”

_‘Brother’?_

_So this man is Isa-kun’s father…_

Now that Ryuuji knew that, he started to look out of similarities and differences.

Isa didn’t look a lot like his father, but he inherited those cold, purple eyes. Isa wasn’t very tall, in contrast to his father – sometimes Isa had that strict demeanor, too, but that was perhaps to be expected, being the son of a politician that important.

Anyway, Ryuuji could already tell he wasn’t going to like this man.

“Shirogane is upstairs, still talking,” Kitsugu told Mino, “I just thought I’d take you guys upstairs to the meeting room.”

“Utsuro-kun told me you didn’t give him a call at all!” Mino complained, “I know you’re busy, but your son is doing something awesome here, so at least give him some credit!”

“Utsuro is a big boy now,” Kitsugu said, “He doesn’t need praises.”

 _Yup,_ Ryuuji thought, _he’s an asshole._

Isa remained strangely silent – almost as if he was too scared to speak. Ryuuji couldn’t help but wonder if this is the kind of situation Isa faces everyday at home, too –

The four of them walked together into an elevator, and Kitsugu pressed one of the buttons. Isa and Ryuuji stood closer to the back, and the other Ichijous stood before the door –

“By the way, Mino, do you really have to come all the way here? I thought you have better things to do.”

“I’m just accompanying Utsuro-kun! Besides, I get to see some old friends too, right?”

Ryuuji noticed now that Isa’s hands were trembling, and his gaze was fixed at his father’s back. As if he feared his father –

Ryuuji didn’t understand what happened, but it couldn’t have been pleasant, if Isa was that scared –

He slowly moved his hand to hold Isa’s, and Isa quickly snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look at him.

 _It’ll be fine_ , Isa-kun, he wanted to say, but only gave a reassuring nod. Isa continued to look at him for a while before he let out a sigh.

_I wonder if I can ask Isa-kun or the rector later…_

The elevator stopped the the door opened into a dimly-lit meeting room. There were two people sitting around the round table – a man (in his 40s, maybe?) with light blue hair, whom Isa quickly recognized as Shirogane, the Minister of Education, and a young black-haired lady in a red kimono.

“Oh, it’s Aya-chan!” Mino turned to both Isa and Ryuuji, “This is Nishikikouji Aya. We went to college together!”

The lady smiled upon seeing Mino walk into the room, “It’s been a while, Mino-san. How’s Tohri-chan doing?”

_Wait…_

Ryuuji thought back to his roommate, Nishikikouji Tohri – long blonde hair with red highlights, explosive personality –

_This is Tohri-kun’s mum?? I can’t believe it??? Oh my God????_

_They don’t even look alike! She’s so pretty and nice compared to him! Wait, he’ll kill me if he heard that._

“Ah, Utsuro-kun! It’s been a while.” She turned to Ryuuji, “Kawara Ryuuji, isn’t it.” She nodded at him with a smile, “Tohri-chan complained about you a lot.”

 _I knew it…_ “I’m sorry, about that, Nishikikouji-san…”

_Wait, if she’s here… she’s also an important person? Tohri-kun never told me anything…_

_But then again, Isa-kun never told me anything either, but it’s probably because everyone already knows._

“Oh, no, it’s perfectly okay,” she said, “He mostly rants about how you don’t clean your share of the room and how quickly you got a boyfriend… but that boy’s kind of conceited, since he’s the youngest of my children…”

“Utsuro isn’t dating anyone at the moment,” Kitsugu cut in while looking sharply at Ryuuji. Ryuuji couldn’t help but freeze under that cold glare –

“Let’s talk business,” Shirogane sighed, sensing the situation would only go south. “I believe Mino gave you guys some details –”

“What details?” Mino asked with his best clueless face.

Shirogane could only sigh.

“We’re offering you an internship,” Aya cut in. “It’ll be paid, and will last for three months. During that time, we expect you to help us research the new artificial organism and what their capabilities are, and you two will have the entire lab and staff members to help you.

“Me included,” she said with a smile. “And I’ll be reporting your progress, since I’m one of the Department Heads.”

“Three months?” Ryuuji scratched his head, “That’s kind of short, isn’t it?”

“We’ll continue the research if it looks promising,” Aya replied. “I believe it will be continued, though.”

Isa eyed his father, trying to see his reaction, but found that he was just looking at Ryuuji.

Ryuuji seemed to be thinking pretty hard about his decision – Isa probably should be doing that too, but he found himself unable to.

His father was specifically there to see him make that decision, after all – for Isa, it was obvious what answer his father wanted to hear, and there was no way Isa could not give it to him.

“Oh, we forgot to tell you the paycheck,” Shirogane looked through his books, “It’ll be about six hundred thousand a month…”

“That’s a lot, isn’t it,” Kitsugu said while staring coldly at Ryuuji, “That’s almost as much as your annual tuition.”

“I don’t know…” Ryuuji scratched the back of his head, “I mean… it sounds really nice, but…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i know kitsugu is the grandpa's name but you know. i'm lazy  
> also they're offering abt 5000 bucks a month for ryuuji and u know. that's also how much japanese public institutions cost per year. take me there for college


	11. Chapter 11

“What the… are you serious, mum?”

Ryuuji walked in to find Tohri sitting in front of the mirror, ironing his hair as usual while talking to someone on the phone through headphones.

“But that’s…” Tohri let out a sigh when he saw Ryuuji’s reflection on the mirror. “I still don’t understand, but alright. Ryuuji’s here. See you.”

“Yo, Tohri-kun,” Ryuuji greeted once he saw Tohri pull out the headphones, “Thanks for the clothes.”

“I will be honest with you, Kawara Ryuuji,,” Tohri said with a sigh, “What you did was incredibly stupid.”

“Yeah…” Ryuuji sighed in return, “I know you’d say that.”

“Where’s Ichijou?”

“He went back to his apartment,” Ryuuji replied. “He was about as angry as you are.”

“Did he accept the offer?”

“No.”

“Why…”

Ryuuji was quiet as he put his gym bag back into the wardrobe and took off his blazer. Tohri let out an exasperated sigh as he sat down on Ryuuji’s bed and laid down to look at the ceiling.

“You two are incredibly stupid,” Tohri muttered. “Fuck those artificial organisms. You two are still idiots.”

“I am, but not Isa-kun.” Ryuuji sounded almost annoyed by Tohri’s remarks – “I was the one who asked him not to work there.”

“Then he’s stupid for listening to you! You guys can work for three months and pay for almost the rest of your college years and have some leftovers –”

“Well, what did your mum say?”

“She said it was a brave decision,” Tohri said, “And she’s always straightforward, so I have no idea why she said that.”

Ryuuji took a yellow shirt that said “Pudding the Universe” at the front, jeans, and his towel. “I’m gonna shower.”

“Tell me, Kawara,” Tohri said as Ryuuji was leaving, “Why did you do that?”

Ryuuji walked out of the room, and shut the door behind him.

~•~

“Thank you for taking your time to visit us.”

“...It’s nothing.”

Nishikikouji Aya kept a smile on her face as she walked down the hallway with Ichijou Kitsugu. He seemed as calm as always, but she could tell from his eyes that he was furious.

“Think about it, though, isn’t it about time?”

Kitsugu turned to her, confused. “What?”

“Time for you to let Utsuro-kun to think for himself,” she replied, “It’s his life to live, after all.”

“He wasn’t thinking for himself,” he said, the wrath almost audible in his voice, “If that Kawara had accepted the offer, Utsuro would’ve too.”

“Are you angry that he’s not under your control anymore?”

Kitsugu stopped walking and turned to Aya, his stare almost as cold as the ice in the Antartic.

“I dare you say that again.”

“Well, I’ve known both you and your brother for a long time, and you two have very different approaches to Utsuro-kun,” she said. “You dictate every single thing that boy does, while Mino-san just gives him options to choose from. Isn’t that the reason you hold a grudge against Mino-san – because he let Utsuro into the medical major?

“Personally, I don’t think Utsuro-kun would’ve enjoyed working here.”

“And why is that?”

“Because he knows exactly what you’re trying to do,” she said, smiling – “Ryuuji-kun is sharp enough to catch on to that.”

~•~

“Ryuuji-kun is really good at reading people, isn’t he?”

Isa kept looking out of the window, trying to avoid direct eye contact with Mino. Mino looked at him for a while, as if expecting a reaction –

“Are you angry, Utsuro-kun?”

There was no reply.

“Ryuuji-kun did it for you, you know,” Mino said, “All those money could’ve –”

“I know,” Isa hissed, “And that’s exactly why I’m angry. I don’t need him doing things for me.”

“You’re just scared because you’re defying your father again, aren’t you?”

Isa didn’t answer, but Mino noticed his hands twitched in nervousness.

“Remember when you were trying to decide your major, and he almost killed me with a flying plate when I said you should be a doctor?” Mino chuckled a bit at the memory – “He… tries really hard to control every aspect of your life.

“I don’t like that.”

Isa turned to look at his uncle, and noticed how serious his eyes had become. The air around him tensed up, yet felt almost chillin, as if Mino was getting ready for a battle –

“Ryuuji-kun knew,” Mino said carefully, “That if you two worked there, Kitsugu will find a way to get rid of him and force you to modify those organisms for whatever he wants it to be.”

Mino turned to Isa with a smile, and the atmosphere around him was suddenly cheerful again.

“For all we know, it could be for war.”

The car stopped in front of Isa’s apartment, but Isa didn’t leave. He kept locking eyes with Mino for a while, waiting for Mino to go on talking –

“You have any more classes after this?”

“... World history. I can skip that.”

 

“Don’t be sad about what happened, Utsuro-kun.”

Isa didn’t say anything as he got off the car. As he was walking towards his apartment, Mino rolled down the windows and waved goodbye.

~•~

Isa didn’t feel angry, but he wasn’t happy either. There was this… stirring emotion in this chest that he couldn’t quite understand –

He hated to admit it, but Mino was right. Accepting the offer would mean giving away his freedom, but now that he had refused it –

Perhaps it really was fear, but not for himself. Ryuuji had picked a bone with the wrong person –

 _He’s so stupid_ , Isa thought. _This is all… so tiring._


	12. Chapter 12

For the entire year they had been roommates, Ryuuji had always been the cheerful one and Tohri the drama queen, but perhaps it was all just Ryuuji’s facade after all.

It felt strange seeing Ryuuji get upset.

Ryuuji was lying on his bed – for at least three hours now, chewing on a candy while staring blankly at the ceiling fan in the middle of the room. Tohri was about to go to his theatre club meeting, but looking at a very sullen Ryuuji made him worry.

“Kawara, what’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing,” he replied, but then sighed – “Well, who am I trying to fool here.”

“Come on.” Tohri sat down next to him and laid down, too. “I’ve never seen you sad like this.”

“I’m just human. I can be sad, too.”

“Yes, but usually you can just… eat a candy and be happy again.”

Ryuuji kept looking at the ceiling blankly.

“I’m… scared, I guess.”

“Of what?”

“Losing Isa-kun to the world.”

 

It was a strange feeling. After the dream he had last night, “Utsuro” had somehow turned into an entirely different person for him.

Not only because he knew they had known each other before, no matter how true those dreams are. There was no way to confirm it now, after all –

Perhaps it is what they call ‘fate’, although it has certainly captured Ryuuji in a strange whirlwind of indescribable feelings. He’s had it since day one, since he saw “Ichijou Utsuro” and felt that strange familiarity.

He wanted to be with Isa forever, as simple as that – and yet the world seemed to always find a way to stop them. As if the world is a stage designed to keep them apart.

_I want to be with Isa-kun forever. I just want to see him happy._

_What have I done?_

 

“Question, Kawara.”

Ryuuji turned to look at Tohri while fishing his pockets for another candy. “Yeah?”

 

“Who the hell is this Isa?”

~•~

“So are you going to the extra class tomorrow, Uzune-kun?”

 

“I don’t know,” Hitori replied while looking at his phone, “I have another class right around that time, but I need to ask the teacher a few things.”

“Ehh~” Kazuaki whined, “I don’t want to go if you’re not going…”

“You have to go, Nanaki-kun,” Hitori said, “You’re close to failing that class.”

“Uzune-kun~”

“Let’s go see Kawara-kun,” Hitori suggested, “Tohri just posted on Twitter that he’s back.”

“Really? I wonder how he’s doing.” Kazuaki took out a bar of chocolate from his pocket and broke off a square. “He’s going to work at Takaba Labs now, right? How nice~”

“From what Tohri wrote here, I’m guessing things aren’t going so well,” Hitori said while scrolling.

_@t0hrinishikikouji My shit roommate is back, but he seems sad. I tried talking to him but he still seems pretty sad_

_@t0hrinishikikouji Maybe I should take him out to drink?_

_@t0hrinishikikouji update: He doesn’t want to eat_

_@t0hrinishikikouji damn… he changed a lot since he started dating._

Kazuaki then spotted someone familiar standing by the vending machines, as if trying to figure out what he should buy. This ‘someone’ had short brown hair, red glasses, and he was wearing a brown coat –

“Ichijou-san?”

Isa turned to the voice, surprised, and saw both Hitori and Kazuaki walking to him.

“What are you doing here, Ichijou-san?” Kazuaki asked cheerfully, “You want to buy something? I suggest getting that chocolate caramel cookies down there! It’s only a hundred yen, too!”

“Ah…” Isa smiled and gave nod, “Yes, I was just thinking about –”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Hitori interjected, “Why are you here?”

“What’s wrong with visiting my school?”

“That’s a lame reason! We don’t even have classes at this hour,” Hitori said, “Are you here to see Kawara-kun?”

Isa visibly stiffened up upon hearing Ryuuji’s name, but then looked away, as if apologetic.

“We can take you there!” Kazuaki offered, “I mean, it’s kind of late now, so you might get lost trying to –” He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm, “Oww, Uzune-kun! What did you pinch me for?”

“We’re not taking you anywhere until you tell us what happened,” Hitori said, “You made Kawara-kun sad, you know?”

“I’m… aware,” Isa muttered softly. “I… will try to explain.”

~•~

“Kawaraaaaaaaaaaa…”

Tohri was literally pulling Ryuuji’s legs at this point, but in vain. Ryuuji was sitting on the bed now, reading a novel, seemingly oblivious to Tohri’s efforts to drag him out of bed. In fact, Tohri was rather amazed he hadn’t pulled off any of Ryuuji’s legs yet –

“God, can’t I read this book in peace, Tohri-kun?”

“Who is Isa?”

Ryuuji turned his attention back to his book without a word.

This had been going on for about half an hour now, and Tohri was starting to get tired. Ryuuji had been entirely silent, unwilling to answer the question.

“Why are you keeping secrets, Kawara? Did you impregnate one of the –”

“Look, I’ve never fucked anyone before and most likely won’t for a while.”

“Well,” Tohri sighed, “Why is it such a difficult question for you to answer, then?”

“I just don’t want to answer. I don’t have to anyway.”

“Come on, Kawara,” Tohri said, “I’ll buy you a cookie.”

Ryuuji always likes sweets, after all – he’ll fall for these!

“I have enough in the fridge, thanks.”

“Then! I’ll buy you pudding!”

Ryuuji was silent. Tohri could feel his heart sink as his brilliant idea failed –

“I’ll buy you a month’s worth of –”

“God, Tohri-kun, shut up!”

Ryuuji’s shout was sudden and thunderous, and maybe it can be heard in the halls –

 _Now_ Ryuuji seemed angry.

His red eyes were staring straight into Tohri’s eyes, furious – his breath quickened, and Tohri could see his grip around the book had tightened.

“The world won’t end if you don’t know who he is!” Ryuuji shouted, “Now shut up! Leave me alone!”

Tohri couldn’t help but freeze on the spot.

He’d never seen this part of Ryuuji before. The Ryuuji he knew was always smiling and friendly towards others, and even when problems come up, he would just laugh it off while dealing with it –

Five seconds later, Ryuuji closed his book with a sigh and closed his eyes. He looked like he was in pain –

“That was incredibly rude of me,” he said, turning to Tohri with a smile. “Sorry, Tohri-kun.”

“N… no, I’m sorry,” Tohri apologized – Ryuuji’s change in behaviour seemed so sudden and extreme now. “I shouldn’t have pressed like that.”

It was right about then that they finally heard some knocks on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Ryuuji declared as he hopped off the bed.

 

Kazuaki was going to knock the door when he suddenly heard from inside, “God, Tohri-kun, shut up!”, and immediately ran away to hide behind a plant.

He wasn’t to blame – Hitori himself was pretty sure everyone on the hall could hear Ryuuji’s shout. It was pretty terrifying, especially considering Ryuuji had never been known to be an angry person.

“Is that Ryuuji?” “Holy shit, that Tohri finally got roasted!” “I wonder what that was about…”

Isa nervously looked up at Hitori, “Is… everything okay inside?”

Hitori could only sigh in response to Isa’s question, and knocked the door a few times.

Ten seconds later, Ryuuji had opened the door, and was smiling as happily as usual. He had a copy of “1984” in his hands, and smelled like soap.

“Oh, Hitori-kun!” Ryuuji turned to look at Isa, who was standing next to Hitori, “Where’s Kazuaki-kun?”

“You scared him away,” Hitori said with a sigh, “And so I’m here to remind you that this is a noise-free dorm.

“God, I can’t believe it. Tohri is the one who usually gets scolded about being noisy…”

“Hello,” Tohri yelled from inside, “I’m fucking here. Thank you.”

“But you know, you were telling him to shut up,” Hitori said, “You’re not entirely in the wrong. Anyway…”

Hitori turned to Isa, waiting for him to say something. Isa was looking down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with Ryuuji.

“What’s wrong, Isa-kun?” Ryuuji asked calmly, “Come in.”

Tohri’s ears perked up when he heard the name ‘Isa’ – so that’s his nickname for Ichijou Utsuro?

“It’s fine, we can talk here,” Isa said. “It’s… actually…” he sighed, “I don’t even know what I’m going to say.

“I told myself I’d come to school and try to find you and to just go home if I can’t find you, but now that I found you I… don’t know what to do.”

“It’s fine, Isa-kun,” Ryuuji said with a reassuring smile. “Wanna come in anyway? I’ve got some candy.”

“It’s alright. I’ve got a cat to feed at home…”

Isa looked up at Ryuuji with a smile, but Ryuuji could quickly tell that Isa was still crying inside. His clouded purple eyes said as much…

Isa let out a sigh and turned to leave, “Sorry for the trouble, Uzune-san, Nanaki-san… see you guys tomorrow.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Ryuuji quickly offered, but Isa shook his head.

“I’d rather you not, Kawara-sensei,” he said. “I’ll… be fine.”

 

Ryuuji felt his heart sink as he watched Isa get into the elevator and closed the door.

He just had a bad feeling that somehow, something would change and tear them apart –

_I can’t let that happen again._


	13. Chapter 13

Isa got back at his apartment at around 8 PM. Sasai-san was there, waiting for him behind the reception table, as usual.

“Ah, Ichijou-san, I’ve got a package for you.” He took out a box from under the desk, “Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

“Is everything going alright with Kawara-san?”

“Yeah, he won’t be staying here for a while,” Isa replied as he took the box, “But he’s doing perfectly fine, yes.”

Isa walked over to the elevator and took it to his floor, found his room, and immediately went in. He placed the box on the table, took a pair of scissors, and opened it.

He suddenly heard a faint meow coming from behind him. It must be his cat, waiting for his dinner –

Isa remembered then that he hadn’t had any dinner, and contemplated cooking some spaghetti. Or maybe not. He wasn’t exactly feeling hungry.

Isa carried a bag of cat food into his room, where his cat is usually hiding. His car did nothing but eat and sleep anyway, so not a lot of guests noticed him on their first visit. The bowl was empty, of course, although there were some crumbs left.

“Hey, Tubbs,” he called the fat white cat lying on its small cat bed. There were some crumbs on its face, too. “Sorry I went out for so long.”

The cat rolled over and slowly walked to Isa – it was so fat it seemed like a walking ball of fluff. Isa knew that his cat was severely overweight, but he kept feeding the cat his normal serving of food anyway – he just changed the brand into something healthier (and obviously, more expensive). It seemed to be somewhat working, but Isa kind of liked his cat fat, too.

Isa put two cups of food on the bowl, which Tubbs immediately ate. Isa petted its head lovingly before heading out again.

That was when he saw a man standing in front of the fridge, reading some of the notes Isa had left for himself.

 _Another kidnapping attempt?_ Isa discreetly reached into his pocket, where he always had a knife. It’s the first time they try to do it here, though.

“I don’t appreciate you coming in without telling me like that,” he said, “Please leave before I call the police.”

The man sighed, and slowly turned around to face Isa.

He had light blue hair and eyes, and he was wearing yellow glasses. He was dressed pretty neatly too, wearing a black shirt and vest and a white tie –

“Ichijou Utsuro, isn’t it?”

Isa took out his knife and pointed it at the man, “Please leave. Now.”

“I don’t want to be violent – I am under orders not to hurt you.”

“You have five seconds to go wherever you came from, and then I’ll –”

Suddenly, Isa felt a strong blow at his back –

– everything faded away into black.

~•~

_“Isa-kun, are you still angry at me? Did your dad get really mad at you?_

_I’m sorry._

_I’ve thought a lot about this, so let’s talk tomorrow… after chem class maybe, in the cafe._

_I understand if you don’t wanna talk to me… is that why you’re not replying?_

_I’ll wait for you in the cafe anyway._

_Good night, Isa-kun! Sweet dreams!”_

~•~

“Hey there.”

Ryuuji knocked the glass of the two incubators and waved at the two creatures. They looked up at him, and started reaching their hands towards him.

“Did you guys miss me?” he asked, “Sorry I wasn’t here yesterday.”

The two creatures stood up now, seemingly excited. Ryuuji thought about opening the incubator to let them out for a bit, and then decided it would not be the wisest course of action, since he didn’t even know if they can be exposed to out-of-lab conditions.

“You guys wanna eat?” Ryuuji asked, “What do you guys like to eat? I can’t just feed you guys chemicals now, can I? You guys are no longer just cells on a petri dish, after all…

"Maybe it's about time I give you guys a name? I wonder if Isa-kun will agree...”

~•~

Isa didn’t come to school the next day.

Ryuuji didn’t know whether or not he should be worried – he could tell that Isa had yet to read the texts he sent, but Isa could be asleep, or maybe he just didn’t want to talk to Ryuuji for a while.

“Kawara-kun, what’s wrong?”

“Ah… Kazuaki-kun…” Ryuuji quickly turned off his phone and turned to Kazuaki. “It’s nothing serious.”

“You’re worried about Ichijou-kun, aren’t you?” Kazuaki smiled, “He’ll be fine. I think he just needs to calm down a bit.”

“Yeah, I hope so…”

“By the way…” Kazuaki suddenly tensed up, looking like he was about to cry. “Is… is Ichijou-kun’s dad really scary?”

“Well, how do I put it…” Ryuuji felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, “He just seems kind of off-putting in person.”

It was a text from Tohri.

_“Have you seen your boyfriend today?”_

“you mean Isa” Ryuuji quickly erased that last word, “Utsuro? no”

_“you better find him asap. look at the news.”_

 

“This is horrible! Ichijou Asuka, the wife of our Minister of Industry, was found dead in her house –”

“Kitsugu-san was at work when this happened. According to our sources, the body was found approximately six hours after her death –”

"A lot of details are still in the dark, but so far –"

 

“Has anyone seen Utsuro-kun today?”

 

Mino was walking down the hallway, yelling and occasionally stopping some of the teachers.

“Mino-san,” a teacher said, “Calm down, please.”

“Have you seen him today?” Mino asked, “I need to make sure he’s safe. He won’t be able to go back to his apartment for the time being – ”

“Mino.”

All eyes turned to the stern voice coming from the other end of the hallway. There, a tall man with brown hair and cold purple eyes stood –

“Brother!” Mino quickly made his way through the crowd towards Kitsugu. “Why are you…”

“Mino…”

Kitsugu grabbed both of Mino’s arms and looked at him – Mino could spot the fear in his eyes.

“Utsuro… he’s gone missing.”

~•~

“I’m not going.”

Ryuuji walked down the hall heading towards the lab, followed by Tohri, Hitori, and Kazuaki.

“Kawara,” Tohri sighed, “Do you not care what happens to Utsuro?”

“I do,” Ryuuji said, “But I’m not going.”

Ryuuji had understood pretty well what was going on by the time he got invited to a meeting with Mino and Kitsugu.

_Isa-kun is in danger – nobody knows where he is, and…_

_For all we know, he could be…_

Ryuuji tried not thinking about it, but couldn’t.

I want to be with Isa again. I want everything to be the way it used to be…

_Please don’t die, Isa-kun. I beg of you…_

_Let me see you once again_.

 

“Where are you going, Kawara-kun?”

“To the lab,” Ryuuji replied. “I…

“I’m going to kill them, those artificial creatures.”

Tohri grabbed Ryuuji by his shoulders and turned him around.

“Are you crazy?!”

“Please don’t do that, Kawara-kun,” Kazuaki said, almost crying. “You… you worked so hard on it!”

“They’re the reason things are like this now,” Ryuuji said, “If only they never existed in the first place…”

“Kawara-kun, it’s useless,” Hitori said. “If you kill them, you’ll only further get Utsuro-kun into trouble –”

“Oh, yeah?”

Ryuuji stopped and turned around, his red eyes piercing into Hitori.

“Oh, yeah,” Hitori hissed, “If they’re kidnapping Utsuro-kun to get those samples, once you kill them, they’ll kill Utsuro-kun, too.”

Ryuuji fell silent upon hearing that. Sensing his opportunity, Hitori went on –

“At this point, they’ll probably try to get some ransom from his dad, and the samples from you,” he continued, “As long as you still have them, they won’t kill Utsuro-kun.”

“I’ll give it to them,” Ryuuji said, his voice coarse. “I’ll do anything. I just want Isa to be safe and sound.”

“You’re not in a state to think properly, Kawara-kun,” Hitori said, “Let’s go back to the dorms and –”

Hitori never got to finish that sentence.

Ryuuji buried his face in his trembling hands, and his shoulders were shaking.

Everything seemed bleak, seemed uncertain. Like his head was overloaded, filled with some silent noise he couldn’t drive away – the hallways felt like they were closing on him, the air suffocating –

It almost felt like he was drowning.

 

_Somebody, please..._


	14. Chapter 14

Isa slowly opened his eyes, and found himself lying on a bed in a dimly lit room.

His vision was still hazy and his head was spinning, but he could make out the blue-haired man who was in his apartment earlier. He was sitting now, in front of Isa, reading something.

Isa tried getting up, wanting to look around, but as soon as he lifted his head everything seemed to start spinning more, and he immediately fell back on the bed.

“Are you awake?”

He could feel a hand on his shoulder. He wanted to slap it away, but his hands couldn’t move. Maybe they were tied...

“Please lay down for a little while. You might feel a little dizzy.”

“Don’t touch me.”

The man brought a glass of water to Isa’s lips, but Isa quickly shook his head as hard as he could. Like hell he would trust his kidnapper.

“Where are we?”

“I can’t answer that right now,” the man replied, “But I have no intention of harming you.”

“You literally just kidnapped me and you expect me to believe you? Bullshit.”

 

“Look, I don’t want to do this either.” The man was starting to sound irritated now, “If you listen to me, everything will be fine.”

“What do you want from me anyway?”

“We didn’t plan to request anything of you – you’re just a hostage,” the man replied, “It’s your friend we’re really interested in.”

~•~

Ryuuji looked dead by the time he arrived in the meeting room.

Mino and Kitsugu were in the middle of the discussion when the four students showed up at the door – Ryuuji had his arms circled around Tohri’s and Hitori’s shoulders, and they had to drag him to move.

“Oh my god…” Mino quickly stood up and grabbed a chair, “Kawara-kun, are you okay?”

“He’s a bit shaken, obviously,” Hitori said as they carefully seated Ryuuji, “He’s not in the best mental state to think right now.”

“I’ll be fine,” Ryuuji muttered, barely audible as his voice was still coarse from crying – “You’re worrying too much, Hitori-kun.”

“Ryuuji, darling, as much as I hate to agree with Uzune, the last adjective anyone would use to describe you right now is ‘fine’,” Tohri said with a sigh. He then turned to Mino – ”Can we finish this meeting, whatever it’ll be about, real quick? He needs some sleep and probably a psychiatrist.”

“Also, we’d like to stay here,” Hitori added, “You know, just in case.”

“No,” Kitsugu quickly denied, “This is a private matter –”

“I don’t see any problem with that,” Mino cut. He turned to Kitsugu, who seemed enraged now – “Come on, brother, he’s got a point.”

“I don’t want anyone else to know about this incident –”

“Well, maybe if you’d taken better care of your son and wife, this wouldn’t have happened,” Hitori interjected. “It’s your fault Kawara-kun is dragged into this.”

Kitsugu turned to Hitori, the wrath apparent in his eyes. Hitori stared back at him, equally stubborn. He knew Tohri and Kazuaki would take his side if ever necessary, after all.

“What did you just say?”

“I said, if you’d taken better care of your son and wife, this wouldn’t have happened,” Hitori repeated, “Did you even see Utsuro-kun yesterday? Do you not understand that all of this –”

“Hitori-kun,” Ryuuji called out weakly, “It’s alright.”

“Why are you like this, Kawara?” Tohri asked angrily, “If anything, you’re the one who should be angry right now! Why are you resigned like this?”

Ryuuji opened his mouth, about to say something, but didn’t.

 

_Tohri-kun is right. Why?_

_I was so angry, so ready to kill those creatures, but now…_

_Now everything seems so dark._

_I miss Isa-kun..._

 

“This isn’t your fault, Kawara-kun.”

Mino walked up to Ryuuji and held his hands. Ryuuji was still looking down at the floor, his expression unreadable.

“It has nothing to do with your research or your actions,” Mino reassured, “These people are just assholes, okay?”

“I know,” Ryuuji muttered weakly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let Isa-kun go home alone yesterday…”

Mino decided to not ask about that last sentence – Kitsugu would probably try to kill someone.

“Anyway, if it makes you feel better, we know that he’s doing alright.”

“Really?!” “Thank goodness…”

It was Tohri and Kazuaki who expressed their relief. Ryuuji still looked at the floor, dejected.

“Are they asking for ransom?” Hitori asked carefully, “I mean… asking for those samples?” 

“That’s part of it,” Mino replied, “The other part is asking my brother to pay some money.”

All eyes immediately turned to Kitsugu, who was still looking disdainfully at Ryuuji.

“We won’t answer their demands for now,” Mino said, “We have to decide what we’ll do the day after tomorrow. For now, I think it’s best for you to give it some more thought…”

“Give it to them if that’s what they want,” Ryuuji muttered. “Please just… please just help him.”

“What do you see in him?”

Ryuuji looked up at Kitsugu, confused.

“...pardon?”

“Why do you…” Kitsugu paused, as if trying to find the right words. “Why do you care about Utsuro so much?”

“How dare you say that!” Tohri was yelling. “Shouldn’t you be the one who cares the most, old man?”

“That’s precisely why I’m asking,” Kitsugu said. “You, who is totally unrelated to my son...

“...I’ve never approved of your relationship, whatever it is.”  
 ****

“I don’t care what you think,” Ryuuji said with a sigh. “What’s so wrong about… trying to save my dear friend?”

~•~

“My name is Sakazaki Yuuya.”

Isa was still staring at the ceiling, trying to avoid eye contact with his kidnapper. Yuuya could only sigh – well, Isa would obviously still be scared, no question about that.

“You’re probably wondering why we didn’t get Ryuuji instead if he’s the one we’re really looking for, right?” Yuuya said, “Well… honestly, I’m not too sure either.”

“He’s not gonna give it to you,” Isa sighed, “So you can forget about it.”

“That’s not how it works,” Yuuya said, “If we don’t get anything from either of your dad or Kawara Ryuuji, we’re supposed to kill you off.”

 

“Just kill me now, then.”

“Before you judge me,” Yuuya said, “I never agreed to this plan. I just had no choice but to do it.”

“Who made you?”

“My stepfather,” Yuuya replied. “He even went to the trouble of hiring an assassin… he was the one who knocked you out. He just asked me to act as a decoy.”

Isa turned around so that his back was facing Yuuya, indicating he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Well, who was Yuuya to think he could gain Isa’s trust so easily – if he was still eighteen and someone suddenly kidnapped him like that, he would be mighty suspicious, too.

Perhaps the way he acted hadn’t been very convincing, although he was telling the truth – what made him not look like he was just pretending to be nice to gain Isa’s trust so that Isa will tell him classified information?

Yuuya had been trusted with the job to tell Isa what had happened to his mother, either. A good time to break the news had yet to come.

_But I have to gain his trust… somehow._

_Or else, I won’t be able to stop his plan..._

‘Utsuro-san.”

Isa didn’t budge.

“Would you perhaps like to talk to your friend?”

Isa didn’t stir.

“I don’t know his phone number, so I can’t do it for you, but…” Yuuya took out his phone, “I can lend you my phone, and…”

“What,” Isa finally spoke, “So that he can track this location, come here in an attempt to save me, and you can kill him to get those samples?”

Yuuya had nothing to say to counter that accusation.

“Why don’t you leave,” Isa said with a sigh, “I would like to be left alone for a bit, if you don’t mind.”

~•~

Ryuuji seemed surprisingly quiet by the time they got back to the dorm, to the extent Tohri and Hitori were worried.

“Kawara-kun,” Kazuaki called, “Are you sure you’ll be okay? Do you want some cookies?”

“That’s a very nice offer,” Ryuuji replied. “But no, thank you.”

Ryuuji crawled into his bed, pulled the blanket over his head, and had remained silent since. Whether or not he was asleep, nobody knew –

Perhaps he just wanted to be left alone, which, frankly, is okay.

“...we should leave. We have class after this,” HItori declared after fifteen minutes of silence. “It’s up to you now, Tohri-kun.”

“Wait, wait, I’m going to have class too!”

“Just go,” they could hear Ryuuji’s muffled voice from under the blanket, “I’ll be fine.”


	15. Chapter 15

_“Have you eaten today, Isa-kun?”_

_Isa looked up from his microscope, at Ryuuji. Ryuuji was eating a chocolate bar himself –_

_“...I ate an apple for breakfast,” Isa replied. “I don’t think I’ve had lunch…”_

_“That’s not good!”_

_Ryuuji quickly grabbed Isa’s arm, dragging him away from the microscope._

_“You have to eat!” Ryuuji shouted as he dragged Isa out of the lab and down the hall. “Your tummy will hurt if you don’t eat properly!”_

_“I’m fine,” Isa muttered softly as they walked, “I don’t even feel hungry.”_

_“You don’t now, but later, Isa-kun, your tum-tum will hurt all the time!”_

_Ryuuji stopped walking for a second, broke off a few chocolate squares for Isa, and placed it in his hands._

_“Okay, eat that first!” Ryuuji then continued dragging Isa down the hall, “And now let’s get you some real food!”_

~•~

_It was just a dream._

Ryuuji woke up to find that everything around him was dark and stuffy, but of course – he had covered his head with the blanket, after all.

He yanked the blanket open, and found that the lights had been turned off. Tohri was fast asleep on his own bed – seems like he, too, was tired by the events of that day.

Ryuuji turned to look at the phone on his clock, and saw that it was two in the morning.

_Should I go back to sleep?_

_...maybe not. But it will screw up my sleeping schedule…_

_...how can I sleep when Isa-kun is in danger?_

_I wonder if he’s eating well… what kind of people had gotten hold of him? What are they doing to him? Is he going to be alright?_  
~•~

Isa couldn’t get any sleep that night – not with Yuuya sitting in the corner, watching his every move. Plus, Isa’s hands were tied to the handrails on the bed, so he had to continue lying on his back, his arms on his sides, which wasn’t comfortable at all. He was knocked out for a long time too, so he didn’t feel sleepy at all.

“What time is it?”

“It’s two in the morning,” Yuuya replied, looking at his phone. “Are you not going to sleep?”

“I was knocked out for so long,” Isa sighed. “I don’t feel sleepy at all.”

Silence fell again. So far, Yuuya hadn’t exhibited any threatening behaviour other than watching Isa all the time (save for the few times nature calls), although he seemed eager to talk more with Isa. Who knows why.

 

“So what kind of person is he?” Yuuya began, “Kawara Ryuuji.”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I’m just curious,” Yuuya said, “I mean, the world seems to know him as this genius, but we don’t really know that much about him. Are you guys dating?”

“Not really,” Isa sighed. “It’s kind of complicated.”

Now that sounds interesting. “What do you mean?”

“It’s really hard to explain, and you’re going to not believe it anyway,” Isa answered. “So forget it. I’m not telling you anything.”

The door suddenly clicked open, and they both turned their attention towards it. An old man walked into the room, followed by a strange young man wearing a black shirt, jeans, and holding a gun. Isa recognized the old man immediately –

“...Shirogane-san.”

“Oh, why, hello there,” Shirogane said with a smile. “I’m glad you’ve been cooperating, Utsuro-kun. Seems like you know what’s best in these situations~ ”

Isa suddenly felt nauseous.

This man, the minister of education, was really the brains behind this wretched operation – just what is he trying to achieve? Does that mean he’d been deceiving everyone, too?

Yuuya stood up, allowing Shirogane to take his seat. Shirogane pulled the chair closer to the bed, and Isa instinctively tried to move away from him – in vain, of course, his hands were tied.

“Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you,” Shirogane said in a sickly sweet tone – the kind his mother usually used with him whenever she tried to look nice in public. Remembering it filled Isa with disgust.

“And we’re really, really sorry for your loss, too.”

Isa couldn’t help but worry upon hearing those words.

“What do you mean?”

_Are they talking about… Kawara-sensei? Or Tubbs?_

Shirogane turned to Yuuya, slightly surprised. “Did you tell him?”

“Not yet,” Yuuya answered nervously. “I… couldn’t find a good time to do it.”

“Ahh, excuses, excuses,” Shirogane said with a sigh as he turned back to Isa. “Your mother, Ichijou Asuka, is dead.”

... _what?_

Isa had no idea how to react to that news.

“We’re so sorry,” Shirogane said, in a tone Isa understood as fake pity – ”She was found dead in your family home yesterday. It seems like she died from poisoning – I wonder who could’ve done it?”

_...at least it’s not Kawara-sensei. Things could’ve been worse..._

“But I believe Yuuya told you why you’re here, didn’t he?” Shirogane reached out his hand and touched Isa’s thigh – Isa desperately wanted to slap him away, but couldn’t do anything – “So it’s best you stay put and obey us.”

“You’re not going to get him to do anything for you,” Isa insisted, “Just watch.”

“That’s what you think?”

Shirogane had a smirk on his face as he stood up and left the room. The strange young man followed Shirogane out of the room, looking at Isa threateningly as they left.

“Just watch,” Shirogane said. “Perhaps, at the end of this, your opinion of him will change rather drastically – who knows?”

~•~

_“Isa-kun, it’s me._

“ _I guess it’s useless to send you these texts now, since you probably don’t even have your phone with you…_

_“I’m sending them anyway, in the off-chance that you still somehow have your phone._

 

“ _...I”m sorry, Isa-kun. I hope you’re alright. I really miss you. I should’ve done something about this sooner…_

_“Do you hate me, Isa-kun? After all, it’s my fault that you got into all this…”_

_“....if you’re not Isa-kun and you’re reading this, can you do me a favor?”_

~•~

It said that the sender is ‘Kawara-sensei’.

Yuuya felt bad for snooping, but at the same time he really didn’t. He’d taken Isa’s SIM card with him and put it into his own phone, which he had designed to be untrackable.

Yuuya wondered for a second if he should text back, telling Ryuuji that everything was indeed alright, but then decided against it. What good would it do Ryuuji, other than give him false hope that everything will be fine? As much as Yuuya wanted everything to be fine, he couldn’t guarantee it.

Another text came in –

 

_“Tell him I love him._

_“I might never get the chance to tell him myself…”_


	16. Chapter 16

“Kawara?”

Ryuuji turned to look at Tohri, who had sat up on his bed. He must’ve woken up to do his makeup, as usual – he always wakes up at 4 in the morning to start dressing up, and Ryuuji had decided to accept his fate of living with such a roommate.

“Yo, Tohri-kun. Gonna do your make up?”

“Yeah.” Tohri yawned as he hopped off the bed, “Did you sleep at all? You’re usually asleep around this hour.”

“I slept for a bit, woke up, and can’t fall back to sleep,” Ryuuji said as he turned off his phone. “I’m gonna try sleeping again in a bit, maybe.”

“Who were you texting?”

“Isa… I mean Utsuro-kun,” Ryuuji replied, and Tohri immediately froze.

“Wait, did he reply?” he asked, “Or are you just texting out of despair?”

“I don’t know. Second choice,” Ryuuji said as he laid back on the bed, “I mean, just in case he actually sees it, so he knows I’m trying to help.”

Silence fell as Tohri rummaged through his bag, searching for something. A few minutes later he triumphantly took out a box full of cosmetics.

“My mum said she’ll come visit today,” Tohri announced as he marched to his wardrobe next, “So I know you’re not in a good mood now, but please at least try to look acceptable, okay?”

“What is she here for?” Ryuuji asked, “I mean, I know this concerns the artifical organisms to some extent, but…”

“She told me she received something from the people who might be the kidnappers,” Tohri replied while looking at his clothes. “What should I wear, Kawara? Help me choose.”

“Oh, come on, Tohri-kun, she won’t care…”

“I still have to look proper!” Tohri replied as he took out a leopard print button-up shirt. “I’ll help pick out your clothes, if you want to!”

“I don’t –”

“Then you must first tell me what you want to wear!” Tohri demanded, to which Ryuuji answered with a shrug and a sigh.

“I mean… you know, normal clothes,” Ryuuji said, “Just a hoodie, a shirt, and jeans…”

“That’s not acceptable for going to see my mother!”

 _Oh, now I know why he bothered packing me some clothes that day we went to Takaba Lab,_ Ryuuji thought with a sigh. Not that the clothes that day were particularly different or nice… Ryuuji never had that many clothes to start with anyway.

Tohri walked over to Ryuuji’s wardrobe and started looking through his clothes, “I’ll help you be more fashionable! When Utsuro… I mean Isa, gets out of there, you have to look good so that you two can look good together! This is an urgent matter!”

~•~

“So that’s how it is.”

Aya was curiously inspecting the two artificial creatures in the incubators as Mino spoke. He had just finished explaining what kind of threats his brother had been receiving and how well Ryuuji was reacting to them (which, let’s be real – not too well), what actions they might take next –

“...are you even listening, Aya-chan?”

“Well, I’m going to convince him to not give away these kids!” The two creatures were staring back at her, waving their arms. “They’re so cute! We should give them names! Can I take them out?”

“I don’t know anything about them… Kawara and Utsuro made them, after all.” Mino sighed, “Anyway, what did you get that it’s important we all know about it?”

“It’s a letter…” Aya knocked the glass of one of the incubators, and the creature inside moved away to the other corner. She immediately followed it – “Aww, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”

 _These scientists and their whims_ , Mino thought. _Those creatures just look weird to me._

“Mother!”

Aya turned around to the voice, and saw Tohri and Ryuuji at the door. Tohri was wearing a leopard print shirt with skinny jeans and thigh-high boots, while Ryuuji… was wearing his usual hoodie and a shirt with a bird’s face on it.

“Tohri-kun, Kawara-kun,” she greeted with a smile. “Nice to meet you again.”

Tohri quickly walked to his mum and kissed her on the cheek, and she kissed him back.

“It’s been a while, mum!” he said cheerfully. “I’m glad you took your time to come here!”

“Well, if only the circumstances aren’t so… depressing,” she said with a sigh. She turned to Ryuuji, and what Mino said seemed to be true – just two days ago he seemed so happy and full of energy, but now he looked like he hadn’t slept in a week.

“Good morning,” Ryuuji greeted both Mino and Aya. “I’m sorry for looking… awful, as Tohri-kun has put it, but…”

“Oh no, it’s alright, my darling.” Aya walked towards him and patted him gently on the back, “I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for you, and I’m very sorry.”

Ryuuji smiled weakly, “Thanks.”

“Oh, and I want to ask about those creatures!” she exclaimed happily. “What are you feeding them? Can they be taken out of the incubator?”

“Ah… I’m feeding them various things, just to see their reaction to it,” Ryuuji explained. “I’ve tried rice, fish, milk, apples… they seem to like milk, but –”

“Can we please talk about this later?” Mino sighed, “You guys shouldn’t be put in the same room with normal people.”

“Ehhh! That’s really rude, Mino!

“Anyway!” Aya reached into her pocket and took out an envelope, “Seems like this was addressed to you, Kawara-kun. I haven’t seen what it said.”

Ryuuji took the envelope from her hands – it was blank on the front and back, no sender or addresses or anything like that, and it was glued tightly. The envelope was flat – seems like there was only a piece of paper in it.

“Who sent it to you?”

“No idea,” Aya replied, “It was just there on my desk.”

Ryuuji tore off one of the sides, and a piece of paper fell out. He picked it up –

_“if you ever want to see him again – come to the st pigeonation’s northern courtyard._

_tonight, 2330._

_bring the samples, and nothing else."_

~•~

Isa still fell asleep somehow.

When he woke up, Yuuya was no longer there, and he was left alone. Well, at least so he thought.

There was no windows in the room, nor any clock, so there was no way Isa could tell how much time had passed – either way, it felt like he’d been in that room for years, although he’d probably just been there for a day or two.

_I wonder what it’s like outside. Is Kawara-sensei doing okay? How are those two children?_

.. _.I wonder if Sasai-san is feeding Tubbs, too, but I don’t think he would’ve known how to deal with that cat._

“You’re awake.”

Isa quickly turned to the voice, and saw Shirogane sitting next to the bed he was tied on, a smirk on his face.

“Fuck you.”

“Oh, i’m sure your parents would never want to hear you say that,” Shirogane said as he stood up and walked closer to Isa, before placing his hand on Isa’s thigh again – Isa felt disgusted.

“Tonight we’ll find out your fate,” Shirogane said, “And it won’t be in your hands nor mine – it will all depend on your friend and your father.

“Are you scared?”

“No,” Isa hissed, “They know not to obey bastards like you.”

“Hmm, I’m not so sure about that,” Shirogane slid his hand up Isa’s thigh, getting dangerously close to his crotch – “We’ll see about that, but if none of them comes for you, I guess I’ll get to keep you forever~”

~•~

“You can’t give it to them.”

Aya held Ryuuji’s hand, looking at him straight in the eye.

“It would mean walking into their trap,” she said. “We can’t let this discovery be wasted at their hands.”

“But Isa-kun…”

“They won’t hurt him,” she continued, “They know if they do anything to him, it’ll be harder for them to get anything from you.”

“I can’t leave Isa-kun alone like this,” Ryuuji muttered. “I have to do something, and if that’s all I can do –”


	17. Chapter 17

Yuuya decided to not ask anything when he walked back into the room.

Isa was still lying on the bed, but if he was anxious and slightly rebellious towards Yuuya, he seemed really quiet now, to the extent it was almost eerie.

While he had no idea what his stepfather had been doing, he could… guess.

Isa looked at him suspiciously, and then looked away, as if in shame. Yuuya took his seat again, watching Isa as he moved, and then took out his phone.

It occurred to him that he had neither replied to Ryuuji’s texts, or relay the message to Isa.

“...how can you stand him?”

Yuuya looked up at Isa, who was now looking at the wall next to him, hiding his face from Yuuya. Isa still couldn’t hide the crack in his voice, after all.

“I don’t,” Yuuya replied with a sigh. “That’s why I’ve been offering you help since day one.”

“I don’t need it,” Isa shot back. “I… I…”

_If Kawara-sensei doesn’t do anything, then I…_

_I’ll be stuck here forever, and that asshole will keep harassing me like that, or even…_

Thinking about it made Isa want to cry. Perhaps now he had realized the gravity of the situation he would be in if nobody does anything –

But he couldn’t cry – Yuuya is the enemy, and he better not show any weakness.

“Everything will be alright,” Yuuya wanted to say, but knew it was an outright lie.

Yes, so far he knew Ryuuji would probably do anything to save Isa, but whether or not it will work out is still a question he can’t answer for himself.

 

“Albert is going to the school tonight.”

Isa remained silent. He didn’t trust himself to talk, fearing he might suddenly cry and attract unwanted attention. If Shirogane was still outside, he would certainly be interested in trying to ‘console’ Isa, despite him being the reason for Isa’s sadness.

“He’s going to meet Ryuuji and make an offer,” Yuuya continued. “If he hands us the samples, we’re supposed to let you go.”

“He won’t.” Isa could hear his own coarse voice, which made it sound like he’d just cried for a few hours.

“And why do you think that?” Yuuya asked, “If it’s your father, then yes, he probably won’t care. But I’m sure Ryuuji loves you very much.”

“What for?”

_After all, he has other things to worry about. His family, for example._

_Being with me will just cause him more trouble._

“I’m just causing trouble for him,” Isa sighed. “Even now, as we speak…”

“Love knows no reason,” Yuuya said. “People do horrible, wonderful things for the sake of love, don’t you know that?”

“That’s just bullshit.”

Isa turned to Yuuya, tears brimming in his eyes.

“I’m not worth it,” he muttered softly, “I don’t deserve that love.”

~•~

“I’m going to take these samples with me back to the lab,” Aya declared. “At least that way, those guys won’t be able to bust in here and steal them.”

“Is that really alright, though, mother?” Tohri asked, “I mean, it could Utsuro’s life we’re risking here.”

“As long as they haven’t gotten hold of the samples, they won’t do anything, I’m sure,” she said sternly, “And for now I think the most important thing is to find out who have done this and what they’re trying to achieve.”

She turned to Ryuuji, who was resignedly staring at the floor.

She couldn’t imagine how difficult it must’ve been for him, coming close to losing a dear friend like this, but perhaps this is for the best.

“...I will still go tonight,” Ryuuji said, “Just in case… Isa-kun is with them.”

“Isa?” Aya tilted her head in confusion. She’d never heard of anyone with that name as far as she could remember –

“Mother,” Tohri whispered, “It’s his nickname for Utsuro.”

“That’s some pretty good thinking,” she said while winking at Tohri, “But try to not get caught, okay?”

 

Ryuuji was entirely silent on their way back to the dorm. Tohri sometimes eyed him, expecting him to say something, but he didn’t get anything.

“You know,” Tohri started, “Thanks for trusting my mum.”

“It’s no big deal,” Ryuuji sighed. “I mean… I can’t think about this matter calmly, so I guess that’s the best I can do for them.”

“You’ll get them back by the end of all this,” Tohri assured, “This is just a safety measure.

“By the way, are you sure about going to the courtyard tonight?”

“I have to,” Ryuuji replied. “Just… for peace of mind.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Ryuuji turned to Tohri, surprised.

“Tohri-kun, they want me to go alone.”

“Well, you’re not bringing the samples anyway,” Tohri argued, “Since that already guarantees we won’t get Isa… Utsuro… back, I should go with you! At least someone will be able to drag your corpse back to the dorms, yeah?”

“...so you’re counting on me to die now?”

“Th… that’s not it! Just in case… anything happens, you know?”


	18. Chapter 18

Yuuya’s phone clock read 23:25 when he heard the door click behind him. Shirogane walked in, and closed the door behind him.

“Is Albert already at the school?”

“He is,” Shirogane replied. “You can go rest for a bit, Yuuya.”

“I’m fine,” Yuuya said with a smile, “I’ll stay here, so you can watch how the –”

“I said leave.”

Yuuya could swear the room just got colder by two degrees.

Shirogane was now glaring at him, screaming “Do as I say”, and the tone he used was stern, leaving no room for objections.

Yuuya could hear the sound of the sheets as Isa stirred in the bed – he was certainly scared about what was going to happen, and Yuuya wasn’t too eager to find out why.

“If you’re not Isa-kun, and you’re reading this…”

“...if you’re just going to torture him for a bit, why can’t I stay here and watch, father?”

Shirogane squinted at the strangeness of that request, and Yuuya could see some of his veins pop.

“I said,” Shirogane’s voice was louder this time – “Leave.”

_Shit, I’ve done it now._

_Well, since I’m going to hell anyways, it’s go big or go home._

“Aww, come on,” Yuuya teased, “I’m curious too, you know! You’ve been spending some sweet quality time alone with my hostage, and then you always walk out chuckling, so why can’t I join the fun?”

As Shirogane took out a knife from his pocket, Yuuya decided he had made a rather disastrous decision.

~•~

Strangely enough, the courtyard was empty that night.

Ryuuji felt something vibrate in his pocket while he was standing by the tree, watching the area for any suspicious activity. He was able to convince Tohri to stay behind with Hitori and Kazuaki (mainly by saying Tohri would stand out too much), but now Tohri would text him every 10 minutes to check or just say ‘be careful’. This was his sixth message now.

_“It’s 11.30, is anyone there yet?”_

“no.”

The courtyard was dark except for the two lampposts illuminating the fountain in the centre. It’s usually turned on during the day, but since it was late at night, no more water was flowing – the emblem of the school, the flying pigeon, perched on top of the fountain, as if staring into the distance.

The air was cold that night, so nobody was outside. Everyone obviously preferred to study in the library or their rooms once the sky is dark, after all. He wondered what would happen if he was caught by the university police out here…

 _“wait a bit more,”_ Tohri wrote, “ _they might be watching you.”_

“Or maybe the letter’s just a trap,” Ryuuji wanted to text back, but then he heard the rustling of the leaves behind him –

Ryuuji quickly set his phone to dial Tohri, and then threw it on the ground.

A young man with black hair appeared from behind the trees, holding a knife aimed at Ryuuji’s stomach.

“Kawara?! What’s wrong?”

Ryuuji quickly backed off into the clearing near the fountain, and saw that the young man was entirely dressed in black, so there was no way Ryuuji could’ve seen him even if he wanted to.

_Has he been watching me this whole time?_

Ryuuji found himself being cornered into a tree, and his attacker was slowly walking up to him, knife gleaming dangerously.

“You don’t have the samples with you.”

“Ahh, well, you see…” Ryuuji smiled, trying to look innocent – “They can’t take the samples out of the incubator, and since the incubator can’t be taken out of the lab room…”

“You could’ve told us that,” the stranger said, “That would have saved me the trouble of coming all the way here –”

“Well, I have to ask, though,” Ryuuji cut, “Where is Ichijou Utsuro? I mean, if you thought of striking a deal with me, even if I don’t have the samples, at least you guys would’ve brought him here, right? I mean it’s kind of convenient, so that you guys can just kill him right in front of my eyes in case I –”

“Where Ichijou Utsuro is is of no relevance to this situation.”

 _Oh, I see how it is,_ Ryuuji thought, _they never had the intention of giving Isa-kun back…_

_...how should I do this? I need to know where Isa-kun is, but I better not get caught in the process._

Ryuuji didn’t have much time to think when the stranger suddenly charged towards him, knife in hand.

_Alright, Ryuuji, this isn’t that hard, he thought to himself. Think of it as karate practice with dad. I’m used to it, alright –_

~•~

Isa could only watch in horror as Yuuya fell on the floor, blood oozing out of his left stomach.

“See?”

Shirogane dropped his bloodied knife on the floor, smiling triumphantly.

“I thought you learnt to never oppose me,” he said, “So well, why don’t you ponder on that as you die?”

Yuuya bit his lower lip, hissing in pain as he slowly stood back up.

“Yuuya-kun, stop it,” Isa cried out, “I don’t want you to die protecting me.”

“Oh, damn it,” Yuuya hissed as he steadied his position. “I’d rather die here than go see Kawara Ryuuji with you dead, Utsuro-kun.”

“Ooh, such noble intent!” Shirogane praised mockingly. “But you do realize that Kawara Ryuuji will be dead by tonight, right?”

“We can’t be certain yet,” Yuuya hissed –

– but he was aware that Shirogane had a point. Albert is a well-known assassin who knows no mercy, after all – Yuuya had seen him fight once and even Yuuya wasn’t sure he was going to survive Albert.

_You’re not that weak, Kawara._

_If you truly want to save Utsuro..._

~•~

“Kawara!”

Tohri arrived at the courtyard, followed by Hitori and Kazuaki.

Ryuuji was standing by the fountain, his hair and clothes wet. His right arm was slashed, covering his wk The three of them quickly walked up to him –

“Kawara-kun.” Hitori grabbed Ryuuji’s shoulders, and noticed Ryuuji was holding tightly only a phone. “What happened?”

Ryuuji remained silent and only stared at the fountain in front of him, prompting Hitori look –

Lying in the fountain waters was the young man in black, who had attacked Ryuuji earlier.

Kazuaki could be heard crying in the background.

“Did you kill him?” Tohri asked immediately, “What did you –”

“They’re gonna arrest Kawara-kun!” Kazuaki started bawling, “The police will be here soon! WAAAAAAAAHHH!”

“Nanaki-kun! Calm down!” “You’re attracting too much attention!”

“Anyway,” Ryuuji cut in, his voice cold as ice, “We have to… keep going.”

“What do you even mean by that?”

Ryuuji took out the phone he was holding and handed it to Hitori.

“We can hack into this, right?”

“Is this his phone?” Hitori asked, pointing at the corpse just to be sure – “I can try, I mean, a semester of computer science doesn’t teach me a lot, but…”

“Why didn’t you ask him where Utsuro is before you killed him?” Tohri asked furiously.

“Well, I was… trying to, you see,” Ryuuji said with a sigh, “But he wouldn’t answer, so I got angry and drowned him…”

“We’re ALL gonna get arrested! WAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”

“We won’t, Nanaki! This can count as killing in self-defense!”

“Let me try to figure out the password,” Hitori said as he tried opening Ryuuji’s hand that was holding the phone –

– the phone rang.

~•~

Yuuya had been lying on the ground silent for a while now.

His stomach was still bleeding, but after Shirogane beat him up a few times and smashed his head against the wall, he fell on the ground and had neither moved nor spoke since.

“Let’s see how your friend is doing,” Shirogane said while dialing a number on his phone and setting the speaker on. Isa could hear the dial tune – beep, beep, beep –

Like the sound of the machine beeping that night, before it fell silent forever.

Perhaps Shirogane just wanted to see Isa’s anguish upon hearing the death of his friend. It would certainly be fun, no, to fill him with despair so that Isa would do as he said in order to not arrive at the same fate?

“Hello, Albert?”

 

“How is it going over there? Have you taken care of –”

“This is Kawara Ryuuji speaking.”

 

_Kawara-sensei?_

Isa tried getting up from his bed, but the ropes still tied him down.

_“May I ask who is speaking?”_

“You…” Shirogane looked at his phone with disbelief. “There’s no way you’re still alive! Not after…”

 _“May I ask who is speaking?”_ Ryuuji repeated, louder and more forceful this time – Shirogane only stared at Isa, then at Yuuya, then at the phone.

 _“I guess I’m not going to get an answer for that…”_ They could hear Ryuuji sigh. _“Is Isa… I mean Utsuro-kun there with you?”_

“Kawara-sensei!”

Isa was yelling with all his might.

“Don’t listen to their demands!” he shouted, “I’m… I’m going to be alright!”

“Shut up!”

Shirogane turned off the phone and quickly walked towards Isa, the knife pointed towards him.

“If you dare speak another word, you can forget ever getting out of this room!”

 

“Isa-kun.”

Ryuuji held the phone by his ear, his hands trembling. He could feel his heart racing, could feel the blood rushing to his head.

_Isa-kun is alive._

_I have to save him._


	19. Chapter 19

“That’s a pretty deep cut… I think it’ll need some stitches.”

Tohri dabbed some alcohol on Ryuuji’s arm, where it was bleeding, but Ryuuji didn’t seem to react to the pain.

They had gotten some first aid kit from the nearest building, and Tohri was trying his best to give some treatment to Ryuuji’s poor arm, but there was so much blood that now it looked like Tohri was Ryuuji’s accomplice in the murder – which somehow also did not involve any blood.

“The police are coming here,” Hitori announced, “We better prepare to tell them something.”

“We know where Isa-kun is now,” Ryuuji said, “I’d rather they try and get him back.”

~•~

“Yuuya-kun.”

Yuuya laid on the ground, silent and unmoving. Isa was really worried now – if only he wasn’t tied to the damn bed, at least he could’ve stopped the bleeding somehow…

Shirogane had left the room for quite a while now, and while Isa had no idea what he was up to, he was considerably worried. Anything could happen at this point –

Isa tried getting up again, only to be reminded of the pain when the ropes brushed against his hand.

“Yuuya-kun, can you hear me?” he shouted – Shirogane might as well just come in and kill him now – “Can you move your hand? Let’s try to stop the bleeding a little, okay?”

Yuuya’s hand twitched a little, and he slowly opened his eyes.

His body felt weak and strangely light – it was as if he was losing the sensation everywhere except on his head and his stomach, where it was still bleeding.

“Ichijou Utsuro…?”

“Can you hear me?”

“You’re… not hurt, are you,” he asked weakly, “I don’t wanna get scolded by Ryuuji…”

“That’s not important right now,” Isa said, “Try moving your hand to your stomach and apply some –”

“That’s nice of you, trying to help me,” Yuuya said, “But it’s useless.”

 

“Please don’t say that –”

“I lied to you,” Yuuya said, matter-of-factly. “Remember on day one, when I asked you whether or not you want to call Ryuuji on my phone and that I don’t have his number?

“I actually stole your SIM card the day we took you here,” he explained, “So I… could’ve called him if I wanted to, but I was a coward. I was afraid that asshole might catch wind of it and kill me.

“...well, it has all boiled down to this, anyway.”

Yuuya slowly got up from the floor, one hand holding the knife wound. It didn’t help much, though – Isa could still see some blood on his hands.

“Don’t move! You’ll make it worse!”

“I’ll be fine,” Yuuya said, followed by a sharp gasp as he felt his wound opening a little. A second later, however, he’d calmed down and was able to move his hand to his back pocket.

“So I… started receiving texts from him,” Yuuya continued as he pulled out a switchblade. “They were… for you, obviously, but I read it anyway…

“I could tell that he really cares about you, you know,” he said with a sigh, “So when I heard you say you don’t deserve to be loved, it… hurts me, because I know that first of all, you do deserve it, and second, someone out there still cares for you.”

Yuuya threw the switchblade at Isa, and it landed right between Isa’s legs.

“I’m sorry I can’t do more,” Yuuya said, “But… you have to go.

“Tell Ryuuji I’m sorry.”

That said, Yuuya fell on the ground, still holding his stomach.

His body felt light and his head felt like they were spinning – must be the effects from losing too much blood.

As Yuuya closed his eyes, he could see Isa calling someone –

– perhaps him, perhaps not. Yuuya would never know.

 

Isa kicked the switchblade into his hand – good thing his legs were free – and flicked it open. Now the problem is cutting the rope around his hands and arms –

Isa tried to not think about Yuuya as he started cutting the ropes. There might be a chance to save him still, but Isa would have to act and think fast. Shirogane was still out there, probably ready to take him away or kill him –

~•~

“You killed him?”

The policeman stared at Ryuuji in disbelief, but Ryuuji only shrugged.

“He came out of the trees and tried to attack me,” he lied, “So I kind of tried to fight him back, but I ended up…”

“Do you know who he is?” the police asked, “He’s Albert Alkain Alkan, a well-known assassin in the underground! We’ve been looking for him for years now!”

The word ‘well-known’ made Ryuuji slightly uncomfortable as he’d never heard of the name before.

“And I… took his phone from him because it was ringing.” Ryuuji showed the phone to the police. “I kind of talked to the other guy, so if you can trace the call, you can find whoever hired him, right?”

“That’s very helpful!” The police took the phone with him, “And you’re fine! We’ll just have a bit of questioning as to what happened, I guess. You won’t get arrested or anything, since it’s in self-defense. Is your arm okay?”

“It kind of feels dead, but yeah.”

“What about your friends?” The police pointed at Tohri, Hitori, and Kazuaki, “Did they, you know, see a thing?”

“They came here after I called them, which is after I killed this guy…” Ryuuji sighed, “Can you just trace the call back real quick?”

“Whoa, calm down, kid,” the police said, “But yeah, sure. One sec –”

~•~

Isa had no idea how long it took him to finally free his right arm, but after that freeing his other arm was pretty straightforward.

Isa’s legs felt weak when he finally stood up – lying down on the bed for days had not done his muscles any good. He quickly ran over to Yuuya –

“Are you okay, Yuuya-kun?”

Yuuya didn’t react. Isa considered taking Yuuya with him for a second, but Yuuya was quite a tall guy, and he needed to run fast.

“Sorry, Yuuya-kun,” he whispered, “Once I get out, I’ll send some help.”

Isa then heard the door click open behind him, and saw Shirogane walking in. He had a syringe in hand, and Isa decided it would not be wise to have any of that in his system.

“...you punk!”

Isa quickly got up and darted for the door, trying to avoid Shirogane in the meantime –

Somehow, with all the muscle atrophy, Isa still made it past Shirogane – perhaps the difference in age had a hand in this.

_Run._

Isa could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins as he ran as fast as he could.

Somewhere, out there, Ryuuji is waiting for him – he will find safety once he leaves.

 

Isa kept running and running, past all the doors and hallways. He seemed to have been trapped in an abandoned office of sorts –

Surprisingly, there was nobody else chasing him. He knew Shirogane tried to chase him, but perhaps decided Isa was a little too fast and gave up. The possibility that Shirogane would get more of his underlings to chase Isa was still there, though –

Isa suddenly felt weak on the knees, and fell down on the ground.

 _Damn… my muscles are still weak_ , Isa thought _. I’ll stay here for a bit, and then go back to running –_

Isa could hear multiple footsteps behind him, and quickly stood up to run again. He hopped down past a flight of stairs, and saw that there was a metal door in front of him. He quickly ran towards it –

As he pushed the door open, the cold night air blew past his face –

He could see the twinkling city lights in front of him, the brightness of the stars above him, the sounds of the cars around him. No more darkness, no more confinement –

Isa looked at the name of the street at the sign in front of him, before he dashed away into the night.

He was free.

~•~

“Ichijou Utsuro?”

“Yes! It seems like he’s in the Maihama station…”

Ryuuji could barely believe his ears when he heard the police talking amongst themselves. He pulled one of them aside –

“They… they found him?”

 

“Ichijou?” the police asked, “Yeah, it seems like he’d escaped from wherever he was and is now in the police station.”

“Take me there!” Ryuuji demanded immediately, “I have to see him!”

~•~

“Shirogane?”

The detective was looking at Isa confusedly. Isa himself was eating a bowl of chicken rice as he spoke with the detective – as he had no sense of time passing while being kidnapped, he never remembered to eat, and somehow his body was able to get along. Perhaps it was the power of the fight or flight response.

Isa

“You’re saying he was the mind behind this kidnapping?”

“Yeah,” Isa said. “You can choose to believe it or not.”

“He would’ve escaped if we go there now,” she said with a sigh. "I'll send more people to look into this, I guess."

“Have you sent the ambulance I asked for?”

“It’s on its way,” she said. “I’m not sure what to do next, I mean, I want you to go home and see your family first, but we also have quite a lot of questions to ask.”

“I can stay here,” Isa replied. “My dad probably doesn’t want to see me anyway.”

“The news talked quite a lot about him, you know,” she explained. “I mean, he didn’t seem particularly worried about your well-being. Your uncle seems a lot more worried.”

 _That makes sense,_ Isa thought as he spooned more rice into his mouth. Food sure tastes good.

“Can I get you anything else? Is that enough food?”

“Yes, thank you.”

They then heard the door of the station open, and a tired-looking young man with a bloodied right arm walked in –

 

“Isa-kun.”

The feeling Ryuuji had when he saw Isa on sitting in front of the desk was indescribable. It was like… happiness and relief that he was safe and sound, but also a strange sadness –

“Kawara-sensei.”

Isa slowly stood up from his chair and walked towards Ryuuji. When they were just a few steps away from each other, Ryuuji took Isa’s hand in his –

Isa looked so tired and helpless – there were eye bags under his eyes, and he looked like he was ready to cry at anytime. Ryuuji couldn’t imagine what they must’ve done to him, how difficult and hurt it must be –

But it’s all over now.

Before he knew it, Isa had rested his head on Ryuuji’s chest, and started sobbing.

“Kawara-sensei,” he muttered softly. “I’m… I’m…”

“Everything will be alright now, Isa-kun,” Ryuuji said, holding Isa tightly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have… I’ll… never let you go again.”

Now that Isa was back in his arms, safe and sound –

_I’ll never let anyone separate us again, Isa._

“I’m glad,” Isa sobbed, “I’m glad you’re alive.”


	20. Chapter 20

_“Good morning, Isa-kun.”_

_Ryuuji walked over and kissed Isa on the forehead. Isa was holding a pot of water in one hand, and a mug in another._

_“Good morning, Kawara-sensei,” Isa greeted. “I’m making your coffee.”_

_“That’s really nice of you,” Ryuuji said as he put some papers on the table. “By the way, I’ve submitted the report we did yesterday.”_

_“...I see._

_“We’re going to have a meeting with the other department heads today. I’ve prepared a budget request proposal, as well.”_

_“You will be there, right, Isa-kun? I don’t really wanna talk about it…”_

_“...I won’t be there, since it’s exclusively for the department heads, so you have to.”_

_Ryuuji gave a hearty laugh, “I know. I’ll do it. Damn, it would be nice if we can have two department heads, huh…”_

_Ryuuji put both his hands on the air, posing dramatically. “Head of the Biology Division, Isa Souma!”_

_He smiled and nodded to himself, happy with how that sounded – Isa could only sigh._

~•~

Isa woke up to find Ryuuji lying next to him, sound asleep.

The room was still dark and Isa couldn’t see the clock, but having Ryuuji next to him made him feel warm, feel safe.

He could vaguely recall what happened last night – or more like a few hours ago.

Ryuuji and Tohri had picked him up in the police station, and then brought him back to the dorms. The detective promised to investigate further, and that both Isa and Ryuuji would be taken in for questioning. Some medics got Ryuuji’s wound taken care of there, too.

Mino arrived at the police station just as they were leaving and would’ve cried of relief right then and there if Isa didn’t stop him. He offered Isa a ride back to his apartment, but since it was pretty late (or early) anyways, Isa decided to not go back to his apartment and to just stay with Ryuuji in the dorms. Tohri was not very happy with that decision, but not like they had any other choice – there was no more trains running at that hour.

“Well, if he’s staying with us,” Tohri said, “He’d better not sleep on my bed!”

Not a big deal, since Isa and Ryuuji had slept on the same bed before.

 

Ryuuji immediately fell asleep like he hadn’t slept in days.

Isa carefully placed his hand on Ryuuji’s hair and caressed it gently. It was nice, seeing Ryuuji sleep so peacefully – it sort of made Isa’s heart stir at what a beautiful sight it was. After all the turn of events in the last few days, he deserves a break –

Isa looked at Ryuuji’s arm, where it was bleeding yesterday – they’d gotten it stitched and dressed at the police station, but Isa knew it would probably still hurt for a few days.

Isa snuggled closer to Ryuuji and closed his eyes again.

He could feel the warmth of Ryuuji’s body, could hear his steady breathing –

Everything is going to be alright now.

 

“You’re awake, aren’t you, Utsuro?”

Isa got up upon hearing Tohri’s voice, and saw Tohri walking into the room, holding a towel. His hair was still wet and he had bottles of soap, too.

“You wanna shower?” Tohri asked, “Oh wait, you don’t have anything to change into, do you? His shirts will most definitely be too big, and mine won’t fit you either…”

“I’ll shower later,” Isa replied. “Thanks for the offer.”

“I don’t think there’s any chance any of you are going to class today.” Tohri sighed as he dumped all his things on the bed – “It can’t be helped, I guess. It’s been difficult for both of you.”

“...may I ask what time is it?”

“It’s five… something,” Tohri replied nonchalantly. “You should sleep a bit more. I can’t imagine you getting too much sleep while you were held captive. By the way…”

Tohri looked around nervously as he walked closer to Isa.

“You know,” he sighed, “I know Ryuuji has a nickname for you… ‘Isa’, is it?”

It’s not exactly a nickname, Isa thought to himself, but decided that telling Tohri that it was his name in a past life he wasn’t sure existed wouldn’t be very funny, either.

“What about it?”

“Just wondering if I should start calling you that, too.”

 

Ryuuji didn’t wake up until the sun was high in the sky.

He found Isa lying next to him, reading a book. Ryuuji circled his arms around Isa and pulled him closer, forcing Isa to put down the book.

Sleeping in on a school day and waking up to find the love of your life sitting next to you, waiting for you to wake up? Sounds ideal.

“Good morning, Isa-kun~”

Ryuuji yawned loudly before he placed a kiss on Isa’s cheek and held him tighter.

“Good morning, Kawara-sensei,” Isa greeted. “Did you sleep well?”

 

“Of course! Isa-kun is here with me after all~”

“It’s eleven o’clock now,” Isa said as he carded his fingers through Ryuuji’s hair. “We should get something to eat. Like a brunch, maybe.”

“I’m not hungry,” Ryuuji said as he got up – as he supported his body with both his arms, he was reminded of the pain in his right arm, and hissed in pain. “Oww…”

Ryuuji managed to sit up anyway. He rolled up his sleeve to look at the wound, covered by the bandage – it had stopped bleeding now, but it was still painful.

“I guess I won’t be able to shower for a few days,” Ryuuji said, “Well, isn’t that convenient!”

“Please do shower. You can cover it with plastic to prevent it from getting wet.”

“But it hurts, Isa-kun~”

“I’m sorry,” Isa said, looking away, “It was because of me that you got – ”

“Oh no no no! It’s not your fault at all! I was careless last night during the fight, that’s all!”

 _That fight wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gotten caught,_ Isa thought, but he didn’t say it.

He knew Ryuuji was trying to make him feel good again, so he could forget about everything that had happened in the past few days. Well, Isa was pretty eager to start forgetting about it, too.

“Oh well, the rector called me a few times,” Ryuuji sighed. “I should call him back.”

“It’s probably about my father,” Isa said as he hopped off the bed. “I don’t really want to see him anyway.”

“Why not?”

 

“I mean, he… seems really unconcerned about me,” Isa replied. “You and uncle were the ones who came to the police station to pick me up.

“I’m guessing there’s no way he wants to see me now.”

 _Then again, that probably isn’t surprising. I’ve caused nothing but trouble for him_ …

_...I know I’m supposed to feel sad, but I don’t. That’s strange…_

“Hello, Ichijou-san? Ah, yeah, he’s with me. Wanna talk to him?”

Ryuuji was on the phone now, with probably Mino at the other end.

“Oh… well, I don’t know…” Ryuuji put the phone further, “Your dad is coming for lunch, and I know you just had a rant about him, but…”

“I’ll see him,” Isa said. “No big deal.”

Ryuuji looked at Isa for a while, the concern apparent in his eyes.

“Are you sure?” he asked, “I don’t want you to… feel like you have to go.”

“I’m fine,” Isa replied. “I have something to talk to him about.”

Ryuuji continued staring at Isa for a while, as if waiting for a confirmation, so Isa gave a nod. Ryuuji turned to his phone again –

“We’ll be there. Yeah. Alright, thanks.”

Ryuuji hung up, and sat back on the bed next to Isa. He draped an arm around Isa’s shoulder, and Isa snuggled closer to his chest, resting his head there.

“So what is it you want to talk about with your dad?”

“Nothing serious,” Isa replied as he toon Ryuuji’s hand in his. “Just thinking of changing my name.”

“What are you changing it to, then?” Ryuuji asked, his hand running down Isa’s back, “You’re gonna change it to Isa-kun?”

“Sure, why not.”

Ryuuji turned to Isa, surprised – “I meant it as a joke, Isa-kun.”

“I remember now – what my name used to be,” Isa said, “Isa Souma – does that sound familiar to you?”

“Does it matter, now?”

It was Isa’s turn to be surprised, but Ryuuji only smiled.

“I think, even if we never had those memories of who we used to be, I’m bound to fall in love with you anyways.

“That just now sounds really… cliché, doesn’t it…”

“It’s okay,” Isa said. “As long as you mean it”

Ryuuji mussed Isa’s hair lovingly and placed a kiss on his forehead.

“I love you.”

“I… love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> So quick info that Ichijou Utsuro is really Shuu's birthname and since Shuu's parents didn't die in this one he never changed his name


End file.
